As the Trump administration continues to insist that the war in Iran is a success, John Oliver dedicated the opening minutes of his monologue to uncovering their “flagrant” lies.
On Last Week Tonight, Oliver, 48, said President Donald Trump, 79, and his top-ranking officials are “stretching the truth to breaking point” when it comes to the narrative being spun around the ongoing conflict, “Operation Epic Fury.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has been demanding a “patriotic press” and denouncing accurate reporting of the war, told a press briefing, “Epic Fury is different. It’s laser-focused. It’s decisive.”
“We’re winning decisively and on our terms,” Hegseth declared.
Oliver said the Trump administration’s nickname for the war is “definitely the stupidest name I’ve ever heard,” before condemning Hegseth’s rhetoric. “At the risk of not being a patriotic member of the press,” the British-born comedian said, “A lot of things do seem to be going pretty poorly.”
“From strikes on Iran’s oil facilities causing toxic black rain endangering the public there to the continued blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, which is causing skyrocketing gas prices,” Oliver continued.
Trump, meanwhile, has claimed “victory,” as Oliver put it, saying that the president “seems desperate to paint this situation as much more stable than it actually is.”
The president has been caught out on several of his claims, such as a Truth Social post in which he said the U.S. has wiped Iran “off the map.” Oliver ripped into Trump for claiming in an interview that “we’ve won.”
“Here is the problem with that. He already declared that we’d won the war 11 days ago. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it has seemed to continue since then,” Oliver exclaimed.
“He’s also claimed we’ve destroyed 100 percent of Iran’s military capability, which is a little hard to believe given they’re still somehow managing to strike multiple other countries in the region,” Oliver said. “And he claimed twice this week that a former president endorsed his decision to go to war, something they’ve all since denied.”
The latter claim has been debunked by the reps of the four former presidents who are still alive: Bill Clinton, 79, George W. Bush, 79, Barack Obama, 64, and Joe Biden, 83. According to several reports, none of them has been in contact with President Trump recently.
The president also alleged that Iran is “finished” from a “military standpoint.”
“The lies are getting pretty flagrant here,” the late-night anchor said, “Even by this president’s standards.”
Last Week Tonight airs every Sunday on HBO.
