Coronavirus: John Oliver condemns Trump’s ‘depressing’ Fox News habit

‘That is what is infuriating here. Even though Trump has access to the country’s top experts, he’s still getting advice from watching TV’

John Oliver has spoken out against US president Donald Trump’s tendency to get his information directly from right wing TV channel Fox News.

Speaking on his HBO series Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, the British-American comedian pointed out instances in which Trump has repeated phrases heard on Fox News, such as the coronavirus lockdown being a ”cure worse than the disease”, which he said multiple times in a speech after hearing it used by Steve Hilton.

“It’s pretty depressing to hear the president just parrot what he heard on TV the night before,” said Oliver. “And if he’s gonna do that, the very least he could do is pick a better show than Steve Hilton’s The Next Revolution.”

He continued: “Why not go with Below Deck: Sailing Yacht? … It wouldn’t be helpful during a pandemic, but at least it wouldn’t be actively harmful.”

“That is what is infuriating here. Even though Trump has access to the country’s top experts, he’s still getting advice from watching TV.”

In the episode, Oliver also took aim at high-profile radio host Rush Limbaugh, who had claimed that the coronavirus was akin to the common cold, noting, incorrectly, that it is the “19th coronavirus”.

The term “Covid-19” is an abbreviation of ”Coronavirus disease 2019”.

“They call it that because it was first identified in 2019, you gigantic potato,” quipped Oliver. “Just no. But also no to the coronavirus being the common cold. No to it being ‘not uncommon.’ No to your gold microphone... Most of all no to your stupid quarantine beard. You look like if Santa was MeToo’d, kicked out of the North Pole and forced to move to a condo in Tampa with all linoleum floors.”