John Oliver blasted Fox News for holding a “circus sideshow” instead of a presidential debate last week, and called out the media for covering the “meaningless” feud between GOP candidate Donald Trump and anchor Megyn Kelly.
“The entire debate was basically a two-hour circus sideshow with a piece of luggage covered in Cheez Whiz at its center,” the comedian said Sunday during HBO’s “Last Week Tonight.”
He argued that although Fox News had the 10 top-polling Republican candidates on the stage, the first question from network personality Brett Baier proved that it was really only ever going to be about one.
“Is there anyone on stage tonight who is unwilling to pledge your support to the eventual nominee of the Republican party and to not run an independent campaign against that person?” Baier asked, and Trump was the only candidate to raise his hand.
“Why is the audience acting surprised?” said Oliver. “That couldn’t have been more of a setup for Trump than if the question had been, ‘Raise your hand if your daddy had left you millions of dollars instead of hugging you.'”
More recently, Trump has been under fire for telling CNN he thought Kelly specifically targeted him during the debate.
“There was blood coming out of her eyes,” he said. “Blood coming out of her wherever.” Predictably, Trump insisted on Monday that Kelly should apologize to him.
Oliver could care less who apologizes to whom, though.
“Now, if you want to hear more on the Trump/Kelly showdown, you can basically tune in to any news network right now, because it is all they’re f–king talking about,” Oliver said. “But we are going to move on, and I’ll tell you why: This whole debacle was meaningless. The 2016 election will not depend on this because it’s 457 days away. There will be actual babies born on Election Day 2016 whose parents haven’t even met yet. So everyone pace yourselves.”
2016 Presidential Contenders: The Race to the White House (Photos)
Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz was the first person to officially throw his hat into the ring on March 23.
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Republican Senator Rand Paul announced his candidacy on April 7.
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Former First Lady and Secretary of State, Democrat Hillary Clinton announced she would again seek the Oval Office on April 12.
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A Tea Party favorite, Florida Senator Marco Rubio announced his candidacy on April 13.
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A self-described democratic socialist, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders announced he would run on April 28.
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Retired neurosurgeon, Dr. Ben Carson announced his candidacy on May 3. A native of Detroit, the Republican lived in Baltimore for 36 years.
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The first woman to lead a Fortune 20 company, Republican Carly Fiorina announced her candidacy on May 4.
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Former Arkansas governor and Fox News host Mike Huckabee announced his second presidential run in the GOP field on May 5.
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A former Republican senator from Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum announced his second presidential bid on May 27.
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Former New York Governor George Pataki announced the launch of his presidential campaign with a YouTube video on May 28.
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Martin O'Malley, a Democrat and former governor of Maryland, joined the race on May 30.
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Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator from South Carolina, announced he would run for the highest office on June 1.
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A former Republican and independent governor of Rhode Island, Lincoln Chafee announced his bid for the Democratic nomination on June 3.
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Rick Perry threw his hat into the ring for a second time on June 4. The Republican was the longest serving governor in Texas history.
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The son of one former president and brother of another, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush announced his bid for the Republican nomination on June 15.
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Republican real estate mogul Donald Trump threw his hat into the presidential ring on June 16, saying he'd be “the greatest jobs president that God ever created.”
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"I'm running for President of the United States of America," tweeted Louisiana's Republican Governor Bobby Jindal, who used social media to announce his candidacy on June 24.
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After declaring that "both parties have failed our country," New Jersey's Republican Governor Chris Christie announced his intention to run on June 30.
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Jim Webb, a decorated Vietnam vet and the former Democratic governor of Virginia, announced his candidacy on July 2.
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Wisconsin's Republican Governor Scott Walker announced his candidacy on July 13 with a campaign video.
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Ohio Governor John Kasich announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination on July 21, saying no other candidate else has his experience dealing with deficits, unemployment and national security.
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Jim Gilmore, former Army intelligence officer and Republican governor of Virginia, announced his candidacy on July 30.
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From Jeb Bush to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the race continues to grow
Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz was the first person to officially throw his hat into the ring on March 23.