John Oliver said Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance should stop “berating people for having fun” on the campaign trail.
“The Trump campaign continues to try to counter enthusiasm for the Democratic nominee, with J.D. Vance (who appears to be 10 percent away from transforming into a werewolf) trying desperately to spin a negative spin on the joy at Harris’ recent rally,” Oliver said at the start of Last Week Tonight on Sunday.
He pointed to C-SPAN footage of a speech Vance gave last week at Byron Center in Michigan, in which he criticized Vice President Kamala Harris, who is expected to accept the Democratic nomination for president at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday.
“She says she’s having fun, but while she’s having fun, Americans are suffering because of her policies,” he said. “When she’s laughing during her speeches, remember that there are American families crying to this day because they can’t afford groceries. When she holds her rallies and events and does her fake dancing, remember that there are parents who have lost their children to drugs and violence and who will never get to see their children move, much less dance.”
Oliver responded, “What are you doing? It’s gross to scold someone for having fun because there are sadder things happening elsewhere. I’d be interested to see what Vance is like in other social situations though.”
Oliver described a hypothetical situation in which Vance was taking his kids to SeaWorld. He imagined Vance saying, “Okay, kids, enjoy SeaWorld. I’ll meet you back here at two o’clock. And remember, sometimes dolphins kill porpoises for play. Have fun. Scientists call this ‘porpoise-killing,’ by the way.”
Oliver joked, poking fun at himself as well.
“Dismaying everyone with depressing facts about the things you love is not the way to be vice president. The way to be is to grow old like a wartime president and put people to sleep at least once a week,” he joked while showing a photo of himself and then, “Get out of my corner.”
