John Oliver Tries to Balance the Federal Budget on Last Week Tonight

On Last Week Tonight, John Oliver looked at the federal budget or as he called it, “the only beach read less appropriate than Bill Cosby’s Little Bill One Dark and Stormy Night.”

Earlier this week, President Trump’s White House released a blueprint or “skinny budget,” which Oliver noted, “sounds like a line item which Trump might have included in one of his prenups.” According to Oliver, these skinny budgets are almost a mood board for what the President hopes for the country, including increased military spending and decreased funding for the EPA, the arts, and Meals on Wheels. Mick Mulvaney, the White House budget director, was responsible for transforming Trump’s ideas into a budget, or as Oliver put it, he “treated Trump’s past statements the way Trump treats women, randomly singling out a few of them and then reducing them down to numbers.”

What Oliver found perhaps most surprising about Trump’s proposed budget, though, is that it could heavily impact groups that largely voted for Trump. He believes that if the President’s budget goes through as-is, which it most likely won’t, it could be the tipping point for Trump. For proof, Oliver looked to Trump’s very own book, The Art of the Deal, quoting: “You can’t con people, at least not for long. You can create excitement, you can do wonderful promotion and get all kinds of press, and you can throw in a little hyperbole. But if you don’t deliver the goods, people will eventually catch on.” Oliver believes that people are finally catching on to Trump.