Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

John Oliver advises Donald Trump to drop out: 'You would not be a loser, you would be a legend'

The comedian suggests Mr Trump should drop out of the race and profess his entire campaign was a ruse to expose the flaws in our system

Maya Oppenheim
Monday 22 August 2016 13:08 BST
Comments
Oliver suggested Mr Trump should quit and claim his entire campaign was a cunning ploy to expose the flaws in our system
Oliver suggested Mr Trump should quit and claim his entire campaign was a cunning ploy to expose the flaws in our system (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

John Oliver has advised Donald Trump to drop out of the presidential race now in order to become a "legend".

The 39-year-old comedian, who hosts US show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, argued the Republican presidential candidate could salvage his reputation by choosing to leave the contest.

Oliver suggested Mr Trump should quit and claim his entire campaign was a cunning ploy to uncover the shortcomings in the system.

"Drop out and tell America this entire candidacy was a stunt, a satire to expose the flaws in the system," Oliver said on Last Week Tonight on Sunday night.

“Just think about how triumphant it would feel to say on national television: ‘I openly ran on a platform of impossibly ignorant proposals steeped in racial bigotry and nobody stopped me. In fact, you embraced me for it. What the f**k was that about?'” the comedian added.

“That would be one of the most powerful political speeches of all time. I’m telling you If you drop out in order to teach America a lesson, you would not be a loser. You would be a legend. There’d be a federal holiday in your honour”.

Oliver drew attention to the Trump campaign’s turbulent past few weeks which have seen the billionaire businessman attack the gold star parents of an American fallen soldier, appear to hint at the assassination of Hillary Clinton, call Barack Obama the “founder of Isis” and Mr Trump’s chairman Paul Manafort resign.

“This feels like a fork in the road for Trump,” Oliver said. “He’s either hitting bottom from which he’ll rebound to victory or it’s the beginning of the end so lets look at his options because obviously losing would be disastrous because his entire brand is built around not doing that”.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in