S5 E10: Rudy Giuliani, Russel Crowe & West Virginia: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
17 Sep 2024 (3 days ago)
Don Blankenship's Senate Campaign
- Don Blankenship, a former coal company executive who served a year in prison for conspiring to violate federal safety standards following a mine explosion that killed 29 workers, is running for a West Virginia Senate seat.
- Blankenship's campaign ads focus on his claim that he was unfairly targeted by the Obama administration and that he had nothing to do with the mine explosion.
- Blankenship has made controversial statements about Mitch McConnell's father-in-law, James Chao, who is Chinese, referring to him as a "China person" and suggesting that McConnell's connection to Chao is a conflict of interest.
- Don Blankenship, a candidate running against Joe Manchin in West Virginia, is described as making childish attacks and false negative ads.
Rudy Giuliani's Recent Activities
- Rudy Giuliani, recently joining Trump's legal team, contradicted Trump's claims about the Stormy Daniels payment, stating it was not campaign money and Trump repaid it.
- Giuliani's behavior is considered unusual, with commentators expressing shock and drawing comparisons to his demeanor after 9/11.
- Giuliani's first marriage was to his second cousin.
- Giuliani had a weekly radio show where he took calls from constituents and was often abrasive in his responses.
- After leaving his position as mayor, Giuliani wrote a book, gave speeches, launched a consulting firm, and became a partner in a law firm.
- Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign failed to win a single state, costing him approximately $50 million.
- Giuliani later worked as a commentator for a network's edited presentation of the film "Scarface".
- Giuliani served as Trump's cybersecurity advisor despite seemingly lacking experience in the field.
John Oliver and Russell Crowe's Charity
- John Oliver sent items purchased from Russell Crowe's divorce auction to the last Blockbuster video store in Anchorage, Alaska.
- Russell Crowe donated the proceeds from his divorce auction to the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital to fund research for a chlamydia vaccine for koalas.
- The Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital honored John Oliver with a plaque for his contributions.