John Oliver Says Trump Won’t Accept Election Loss: ‘If You’re Not Concerned, You Haven’t Been Watching’
Walking the red carpet of the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards, comedian John Oliver told Variety‘s Marc Malkin that Donald Trump likely would not accept a loss in this year’s upcoming election.
“It’s gonna be very, very close,” Oliver said. “And if Trump loses, he’s not going to accept it, making the fact that it’s going to be that close even more ridiculous.”
More from Variety
Oliver, who hosts “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” has publicly stated his disapproval of the former president in the past.
On June 16, the British-American comic warned voters of how a second presidential term under Trump would hold serious long-term effects. He detailed the Republican candidate’s “hateful ideologies” and the detrimental impact of Project 2025.
“If you’re thinking: ‘OK, Trump’s making big, scary promises, but he did that in 2016 too and he broke a lot of them,’ that is true,” Oliver said on an episode of “Last Week Tonight.” “Though, he did also go on to do a lot of damage…he blew up the Iran nuclear deal, withdrew us from the Paris climate agreement, slashed access to food stamps and gave a huge tax cut to corporations, he separated children from their families at the borders, suggested curing COVID with bleach…”
The talk show host told Variety although Trump has been “a gift to comedy,” the presidential nominee is not a gift any comedian really wanted and that he hopes to never tell another Trump joke in the future.
Oliver emphasized the tension of the November election given Trump’s response the last time he lost the presidential race back in 2020. Two months later, a mob of Trump’s supporters stormed the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. in an attempted coup to return Trump to political power.
“You’re dealing with someone who historically has not handled loss well,” Oliver said. “I think if you’re not concerned, you haven’t been watching.”
See all the Emmy winners here.
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.