John Oliver has explained why a second presidential term for Donald Trump would be “far, far worse” than his first.
The Last Week Tonight host placed the spotlight on Trump’s 2024 US presidential campaign during the latest episode of the HBO show, which aired on Sunday (16 June).
Trump, who was mocked in May after being found guilty in a high-profile hush-money trial, previously won the 2016 election and remained in office until 2021.
Oliver said Trump was “sort of like a hamster in an attack helicopter” when he was president.
He said: “Sure, he wants to bathe the world in blood and terror, he wants it with his whole rotten hamster heart.
“But luckily, he doesn’t know what buttons to press and his brain’s the size of a peanut, so that puts some hard limits on the damage he’s actually able to do.”
However, Oliver added ominously: “This time, though, Trump will have a lot more help.”
As evidence, the talk show host highlighted Project 2025, which is a blueprint for Trump’s presidency spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation and Trump’s former aides and allies.
The plan is essentially a wishlist for his administration with plans to expand his executive authority and replace civil servants with ideologically aligned appointees.
As reported by The Independent, it would also give Trump unprecedented executive authority over federal agencies and open the door for Trump loyalists to weaponise the government against his rivals.
Oliver described the blueprint as “a conservative LinkedIn”, stating: “It’s essentially an open audition for people who might want a new job because they lost their old one on January 6 for some reason” – in reference to the attack on the Capitol building conducted by Trump supports in 2021.
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The comedian then explained why he thinks Trump’s potential second term could prove “far, far worse”, telling viewers: “For anyone tempted to think, ‘Well we survived Trump’s first term,’ first, not everyone did.
“And it should hopefully be very clear by now a second Trump term really does promise to be far, far worse. Because if Trump’s first term was defined by chaos, his second could be defined as ruthless efficiency and that should be troubling to absolutely everyone.”
