John Oliver digs beneath the most 'famous alligators in Trump's swamp,' finds lots more 'swamp creatures'

(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/Last Week Tonight)

John Oliver began his look at President Trump's swampy administration by grimacing at Trump's Razzie-winning cameo in the 1991 film Ghosts Can't Do It. "That kissy face is the single most disgusting thing that's ever been in a movie, and I'm very much including The Human Centipede," he said on Sunday's Last Week Tonight.

Oliver didn't have a problem with Trump's two-year-old campaign promise to "drain the swamp" in Washington. "Limiting the power of industry lobbyists and special interests is a genuinely good idea," he said. "But as much as people have taken to Trump's 'drain the swamp' promise, it won't remotely surprise you to know that he has not drained the swamp even one little bit."

The problem isn't limited to the "many swamp creatures" in Trump's Cabinet, running agencies that "could directly benefit themselves and their former employers," Oliver said. In fact, "just focusing on the famous alligators in Trump's swamp is missing some of the most important damage that is getting done by lesser-known bureaucrats" at places like the EPA and Interior Department, where "the swamp runs deep" and "there is real power at every level." For example, the agency in charge of oil-rig safety is headed by Scott Angelle, an offshore drilling enthusiast who loves to give oil lobbyists —and thanks to Oliver, you — his work number.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

"Trump never meant drain the swamp," and that's obvious "by what has happened since," Oliver said. "Because he promised to clean up D.C., and instead the guy in charge of the CFPB is holding hands with loan sharks, the EPA might as well be run by a sentient piece of coal, and his head of oil-rig safety wants the industry to blow up his digits like an under-regulated oil well." You can watch the video — which is NSFW — below. Peter Weber

YouTube

Watch On

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.