John Oliver Systematically Dismantles
Every Last Piece of Donald Drumpf’s Wall
If there’s one policy proposal Donald Trump has outlined in great detail, it’s his idea to build a wall along the border between the United States and Mexico—and, of course, to make Mexico pay for it. While the proposal has made a great talking point for Trump, it has also drawn a lot of well-deserved criticism—and on Sunday night’s episode of Last Week Tonight, John Oliver delivered what might be the most thorough takedown yet.
At first, Oliver put aside the obvious racism implied by such a plan and instead tackled the absurdity of the plan itself—highlighting its rising proposed costs, the silliness of believing Mexico would pay for it (even as Mexican officials insist they would not), and the practical complications of actually building the wall itself. “It’s like getting a pet walrus,” Oliver said. “You think it’s stupid now? Wait until you find out what a bucket of sea cucumbers costs.” And then there’s the fact that the 30-foot wall could be could be surmounted by something as simple as a 31-foot ladder.
But of course Oliver wasn’t going to leave the racism and xenophobia aside for good. In fact, Trump’s comments that frame immigrants as criminals ignore the data that show that immigrants are less crime-prone than their native-born counterparts. So Oliver ended the segment by making a counterproposal, putting forward a plan that would cost less and do a better job of giving Americans what they truly crave: a warm feeling inside.
At first, Oliver put aside the obvious racism implied by such a plan and instead tackled the absurdity of the plan itself—highlighting its rising proposed costs, the silliness of believing Mexico would pay for it (even as Mexican officials insist they would not), and the practical complications of actually building the wall itself. “It’s like getting a pet walrus,” Oliver said. “You think it’s stupid now? Wait until you find out what a bucket of sea cucumbers costs.” And then there’s the fact that the 30-foot wall could be could be surmounted by something as simple as a 31-foot ladder.
But of course Oliver wasn’t going to leave the racism and xenophobia aside for good. In fact, Trump’s comments that frame immigrants as criminals ignore the data that show that immigrants are less crime-prone than their native-born counterparts. So Oliver ended the segment by making a counterproposal, putting forward a plan that would cost less and do a better job of giving Americans what they truly crave: a warm feeling inside.
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