Even if it didn’t literally occur the previous week like the name implies, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver covers topics that are as important to know about as they are deeply, deeply fucked up. Over the pandemic, John Oliver has focused on things that are topical and relevant to the times, like how completely messed up the unemployment benefits system is in America and the insane lengths Trump and his cronies went to to undermine the 2020 election, but the star of this week’s episode is, unfortunately, very evergreen: Tucker Carlson.
Tucker Carlson is by no means a new face on television and even those who value their time and brain cells enough to not watch his show know the basics. He’s the highest rated host on Fox News, he’s the grand master of dumb facial expressions that are somehow both slack and furrowed at the same time, and he’s never not yelling about minorities, women, LGBTQ+ folks, Muslims, or a combination of the above. You might be thinking, yeah, we all know that, so what else is there to talk about?
Well, considering there’s a very real possibility this sac of bugs wearing a suit might become a future presidential candidate, now is the time to get very acquainted with exactly who he is and what he’s about.
Although Fox News won a lawsuit against them alleging that Tucker slandered former model Karen McDougal by literally arguing that “no reasonable viewer” would take him and what he says seriously, his show is where millions of people are getting information and rhetoric that they absolutely take seriously. This episode breaks down what Tucker Carlson’s tactics are for so effectively peddling white supremacy and white nationalism, what he represents, and where he came from. (Not a bog, surprisingly.)