John Oliver flays Trump over job losses in ‘Last Week Tonight’, strikes a chord with unemployed Americans
John Oliver has slammed the Trump administration's treatment of essential workers in the latest episode of 'Last Week Tonight', pointing out how the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a steep rise in unemployment.
At least 1 in 10 workers have lost their jobs since the pandemic hit the United States, he said in the episode, adding that the Paycheck Protection Program that was launched by the government to offer aid to those who have been hit unemployment hasn't been the most foolproof plan despite Donald Trump saying it has "been great".
"That is just classic Trump to try brag how in-demand an emergency bailout system is," Oliver said.
He adds that because the government hasn't released final versions of the documents in time, banks aren't ready to take loan applications. "This is yet another area where this administration could have been preparing for this much sooner."
Unemployment in the country has resulted in a plethora of other problems with millions of Americans seeking government assistance due to layoffs. While the government has expanded unemployment insurance for the next few months, the increase in demand is literally keeping people from getting through and actually getting the help they need. He backed this up with a clip of a woman trying to get through to the unemployment office 50 times but in vain.
'Last Week Tonight's latest episode has struck a chord with thousands of people across the country and the world, with many expressing their gratitude to the host.
"Thank you, @LastWeekTonight with @iamjohnoliver. After an incredibly hard week you did manage to make me smile. I’m so happy you made it! You’re the news we need. Congratulations!" tweeted a fan.
"@iamjohnoliver you’re an absolute genius. Tonight’s show was the finest piece of television I’ve ever seen. Thank you," a fan tweeted.
Leaving fans overwhelmed is not new for John Oliver, but his latest episode, in particular, hit home for millions. "Holy f**king shit fuck today's episode of last week tonight is the greatest episode of any TV show in the history of television John Oliver is a fucking genius and the twist at the end had me feeling an entire gamut of emotions. Bravo."
"If John Oliver does not get a Pulitzer for tonight’s show, we basically need to cancel Christmas," concurred another. ".@iamjohnoliver and @LastWeekTonight thank you. Thank you for bringing hope for and for a brief moment, happiness in an otherwise dumpster fire of a year so far. Thank you," said another.
Viewers sent in a few tips of their own. "@iamjohnoliver Check out what’s happening with govt. backed emergency funding to SME’s in the UK. Banks are declining then referring applicants to a third party lender for a commercial loan. Who owns the third party & who’s actually getting the govt. money?"
In addition to this, after being laid off, people are also losing their health insurance and a pandemic is most definitely the worst time for this to happen.
At the same time, he also discussed how healthcare workers, grocery store clerks and other essential workers are affected. Putting the focus on Amazon, he said, "While the company claims its keeping workers safe by distributing masks and conducting temperature checks, many Amazon workers paint a much different picture such as ‘an inability to maintain social distancing guidelines, a lack of protective gear and hand sanitizer and lack of time to clean their hands."
Many sought his attention to other fields specifically the veterinary field. "I wish @iamjohnoliver would bring attention to the veterinary field. Deemed essential, our jobs cannot be performed and achieve social distancing simultaneously. In addition, lay-offs have us working with skeleton crews, creating stress and dissent," tweeted one viewers, adding, "add to that the angry client waiting in the parking lot—smoking, drinking coffee, jamming, talking on their cell—angry bc we’re running behind. We’ve been asked to save our PPE for human lives...Take a deeper look"