John Oliver got emotional during the final “Last Week Tonight” episode before the U.S. election, urging his viewers to vote for Kamala Harris.
Though Oliver acknowledged that he’s spent a majority of airtime this election season discussing all the reasons not to vote for Donald Trump, he affirmed that he will be voting for Harris on Tuesday — even if her policies aren’t perfect. Born in the U.K., Oliver became an American citizen in 2019 and this year marks his second time voting in a U.S. presidential election.
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“Elections alone aren’t efficient for large-scale change, but they’re absolutely necessary for it to ever happen,” Oliver said. “Because it’s the day you essentially get to choose who you’d prefer to be pushing for the next four years and where you’ll be pushing them from.”
Holding back tears, Oliver continued: “Look, I love this country. I’m an immigrant. I chose to be here. In the words of the late, great Lee Greenwood: I’m proud to be an American. And I’d argue there is nothing more American than having a healthy, adversarial relationship with those in power, even if you voted for them.”
Oliver noted that “this hasn’t been a very uplifting speech,” so to end on a positive note, he made the point that if Trump doesn’t win this election, he likely wouldn’t run again.
“I know he would put us through hell before he left the stage, but when the dust settled, he’d have lost two elections in a row and would be campaigning as an 82-year-old next time. I think he’d be done,” he said. “And doesn’t that sound great? I know, the problems that he’s a symptom of would of course remain, but we wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore. Wouldn’t it be great to live in a world where he’s no longer an active threat, just an annoyance?”
“I want so badly to live in that world,” Oliver concluded. “And I hope everyone does everything in their power in the next 48 hours to make that world possible.”
Watch Oliver’s full segment on “Last Week Tonight” below.
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