In his return to Last Week Tonight, John Oliver breezed through recent headlines (hello, Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce engagement) to rip into Florida’s ban of vaccine mandates for schoolchildren and delved into his overarching segment on POTUS Donald Trump‘s ongoing war on higher education.
In response to Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo claiming vaccine mandates were akin to “slavery,” Oliver quipped, “I am not a doctor, I just think about one before I go to sleep,” flashing a poster of Noah Wyle’s Dr. Robby on The Pitt on screen, “but even I know there are certain things you’re allowed to tell people to put in their kids’ bodies: water, for instance; nutrients; one piece of dog food just to end the discussion and, also, life-saving vaccines.”
Showing a clip of Fox News’ in-house medical expert, who noted vaccines prevent sickness and death by cultivating herd immunity, Oliver said, “It is kind of shocking to hear such good health information on Fox Business … it’s just not where I’d expect to hear a passionate defense of public health. I’m glad I’m getting it. I’m just a little surprised at the source.”
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To wrap up his discussion on vaccines, Oliver harked back to a clip of Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, where the former was advocating for organ harvesting in hopes of achieving immortality. He said of the clip, “While it is not great that certain leaders seem to be getting obsessed with achieving immortality through science, I’d argue it is frankly humiliating that ours currently seem intent on doing the exact f—ing opposite.”
Oliver then spent the rest of the program outlining the devastating cuts to university research and Trump’s withholding of federal funds under the false guise of fighting antisemitism.