S4 E1: Trump vs. Truth & Trump Cabinet Picks: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
26 Aug 2024 (23 days ago)
Donald Trump's Cabinet Nominees
- Andrew Puzder, the nominee for Secretary of Labor, opposes raising the minimum wage and heads the restaurant chains Hardee's and Carl's Jr.
- Rick Perry, nominated to be Secretary of Energy, initially proposed eliminating the Department of Energy but later changed his stance after learning more about its functions.
Donald Trump's False Claims
- Donald Trump claimed that the murder rate in the United States was the highest it had been in 45 years, which is not true.
- Donald Trump claimed that then-President Barack Obama wanted to admit 250,000 refugees from Syria, which is not true.
- Donald Trump claimed that the United States' gross domestic product was below zero, which is impossible.
- Trump tweeted that Chelsea Manning called President Obama a "weak leader", however, this phrase originated from Fox News.
- Trump cited an article from Infowars, a website run by Alex Jones, as evidence to support his claim that Muslims were celebrating on 9/11.
Donald Trump's Claims about Voter Fraud
- Donald Trump's claim that millions of people voted illegally originated from a Twitter user who provided no evidence.
- Trump's claim about illegal votes was debunked by multiple outlets, but he continued to tweet about it, and by December, people were repeating the claim on television.
- When confronted about the lack of evidence for his voter fraud claims, Trump stated that millions of people agree with him and that many people who called into television networks agreed with him.
The Importance of Objective Reality and Fact-Checking
- The speaker believes that it is important for objective reality to remain intact, even for Republicans, in case the Democrats find a candidate like RuPaul to run for office.
- The speaker suggests that people should make an effort to verify stories on social media before sharing them, especially if the stories confirm biases.
Educational Commercials for Donald Trump
- The speaker states that a series of commercials will air on television the following morning between 8:30 and 9:00 AM to educate Donald Trump on topics he may not know about.