John Oliver Tells US Voters to Get to the Polls: 'No Outcome Is Certain'

By Benjamin Lee, Guardian UK

07 November 16

The late-night host warned that despite wanting to believe that America will reject Donald Trump, people still need to vote on Tuesday to ensure he doesn’t

ohn Oliver has warned voters not to take a Democratic victory for granted on Tuesday and stressed the importance of going out to vote.

In Last Week with John Oliver, the late-night host referred to Donald Trump as “the human equivalent of a clear plastic bag filled with cheeseburgers and Confederate flag belt buckles”. He also took time to ridicule his opponent’s attempt at reciting a Jay-Z lyric at a recent rally, saying: “Hillary Clinton is truly the Hillary Clinton of rappers.”

Despite polls showing that Clinton has an edge, Oliver urged Americans to head to polling stations this week and research what they will be voting for, aside from the main choice.

“You should prepare before you vote and it’s actually easy,” he said. “If you Google ‘view my ballot’ and type in your address, you can see who or what is on your ballot in your area. And after that, you can type ‘dog dressed as a walrus’ into Google as a little treat for yourself because now you actually deserve it.”

He also spoke of his alarm that Trump might have a chance at winning.

“There is a lot to consider on Tuesday and then, barring recounts, this nightmare of a campaign will be over, which is good because this election hasn’t so much appealed to our better angels as it has groped our better angels, mocked their weight and called them sixes at best,” he said. “We’re at a point where this man has a genuine shot at presidency despite having blown up a political party, undermined confidence in our electoral system, declared open season on journalists and unleashed a river of racism and misogyny. Also, and I feel like we’ve lost sight of this, he has really stupid hair. It’s important to remember that.”

In a surprising turn, he also unearthed footage from 2013 when he suggested that Trump should run because it would be funny. “In my defense, I have no defense for that,” he said. “I was hoping to think of one before finishing this sentence but oh shit, it’s over.”

Despite Trump’s support, Oliver still believes that on Tuesday, Americans will make the right choice. “I want to believe that America will reject Donald Trump, that our innate sense of decency will kick in like some sort of moral autopilot, but I have been spectacularly wrong before,” he said.

He then also found footage of him saying that the Chicago Cubs would never win the World Series, a prediction that became spectacularly wrong last week.

“I’m an idiot but that clearly shows that no outcome is certain,” he said. “If you are thinking that you don’t have to show up to vote on Tuesday because there is no way the impossible could happen, take it from somebody who has learned from painful experience, you are wrong about that.”