British-American comedian and political commentator John Oliver mocked US President Donald Trump for his peculiar way of describing the ongoing conflict with Iran. He compared Trump to a six-year-old child as he poked fun at the president for repeatedly failing to describe the conflict as a “war.”
Trump has refrained from using the word “war” since the conflict began in late February, when Israel and the US launched joint military operations against Iran. Instead, he issued a bizarre explanation at the House of Representatives’ annual fundraising event last Wednesday.
“I’m not going to use the word ‘war’ because they say if you use the word war, maybe it’s not a good thing,” he babbled. “They don’t like the word war because you’re supposed to get consent, so I’m going to use the word ‘military operation,’ which is what it really is,” he said, according to The Daily Beast.
“He really talks like a 6 year old”
After the clip aired on Sunday’s episode of Last Week Tonight, Oliver responded with a scathing monologue, mocking the president’s explanation.
“She’s really talking like a six-year-old speaking stream-of-consciousness to a stranger: ‘And my mom says I can’t talk about my penis with other people, even though everyone has one, well, not her and not my sister, but my dad and I both have penises, but I can’t say it if there are too many people around because they have their own penis, even though everyone knows to do it,'” the host said.
Oliver went on to note that “Trump tries not to use the word ‘war’ for reasons he probably shouldn’t say out loud.” The 79-year-old president’s handling of the terminology has drawn criticism from across the political spectrum, with both Democrats and Republicans accusing the administration of keeping Congress in the dark about ongoing operations.
“I feel like we’re in an unnecessary war”
Regardless of the language used by Trump and his allies, Oliver described the situation — now in its fifth week — as “chaos.” He also highlighted Trump’s recent threat to target Iran’s energy grid in an attempt to disrupt the Strait of Hormuz, a move that drew strong reactions from aid groups. Amnesty International condemned the proposal as “deeply irresponsible” and “a threat to commit war crimes”.
Oliver echoed those concerns, adding that such an act “would be a war crime if it were a war, but thankfully we now know it’s not.”
The Emmy-winning host summed up the long conflict, telling viewers, “It sure seems like we’re in a needless war with no end in sight.”
