John Oliver Tears Into Donald Trump’s Devastating Budget Proposal

“The list of budget cuts scroll by like the end credits of America.”


On Sunday, John Oliver took a close look at President Donald Trump’s federal budget proposal, which seeks to severely slash a number of important federal agencies and government programs, all while boosting the government’s military and defense spending.

“It is sort of fitting that the list of budget cuts scroll by like the end credits for America,” Oliver quipped. “Thanks for helping us out, Agriculture Department! Hope you find a gig with the next country that rises from our ashes!”

White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney recently said he wrote much of the budget by scanning Trump’s campaign promises on federal spending. But when Last Week Tonight examined some of the president’s past statements on the issue, the show quickly discovered that translating “the noises that come out of Trump’s face into hard policy prescriptions” is a near impossible feat.

Oliver also showed why the president’s budget might finally be the catalyst for his supporters to turn on him:

We were built for times like these

Russian bots are impersonating us. Trump and his allies want to silence us. AI wants to (and does!) steal our content. The list goes on. But with 50 years of experience, we know we were built for this moment: We’re ready to keep diving deep and uncovering the truth, then getting that to you right here, completely accessible and never behind a paywall.

While our work is free to read, watch, and listen to online, it’s incredibly costly to make. Court documents, travel, research: It all adds up. Because we’re a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on reader support to fund our investigations. Will you stand with us in these extraordinary times, as headlines clamour for our attention and disinformation is rampant? We can’t get the truth out without you.

We were built for times like these

Russian bots are impersonating us. Trump and his allies want to silence us. AI wants to (and does!) steal our content. The list goes on. But with 50 years of experience, we know we were built for this moment: We’re ready to keep diving deep and uncovering the truth, then getting that to you right here, completely accessible and never behind a paywall.

While our work is free to read, watch, and listen to online, it’s incredibly costly to make. Court documents, travel, research: It all adds up. Because we’re a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on reader support to fund our investigations. Will you stand with us in these extraordinary times, as headlines clamour for our attention and disinformation is rampant? We can’t get the truth out without you.

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

INDEPENDENT. BECAUSE OF YOU.

Mother Jones has no billionaires calling the shots—just readers like you making fearless reporting possible

Donate