John Oliver is taking on Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who has railed against proposals that would allow more Americans to vote by mail.
During a recent show, Carlson claimed that voting by mail was “an invitation to widespread fraud and manipulation,” then concluded his rant with a shrug and an “I don’t know.”
Oliver seized on the “I don’t know” as an opportunity to school Carlson.
“You don’t know? Well, first off, Tucker, thanks so much for admitting that,” Oliver said. “One of the biggest problems with modern discourse is that people think admitting a lack of knowledge is a sign of weakness when it’s not, is it? It’s how we learn and grow as individuals.”
After sarcastically praising Carlson for admitting he doesn’t have all the facts, Oliver filled in some of the blanks. He noted that the United States has had widespread voting by mail since the Civil War and that one in four Americans have voted by mail in the last two elections.
“Your premise that voting by mail is a new idea that would shatter democracy is in fact completely wrong and deeply stupid,” Oliver said. “That’s not a reflection on you, though, is it? You’ve just engaged in a dialogue in good faith, so thank you ― unless you weren’t doing that, in which case, go fuck yourself, you human boat shoe.”
The host of “Last Week Tonight” then shared additional facts about voting, including the five states where every eligible voter is automatically allowed to vote by mail and the 29 others where voters could request an absentee ballot for any reason at all.
Oliver also urged his viewers to vote by mail for one very specific reason ― and not just for health and safety if the nation is still facing coronavirus in November.
“If you vote by mail, not only will you be exercising your civic duty, you’ll also be making Tucker Carlson really fucking mad,” he said. “And what better incentive is there to do absolutely anything than that?”
Check out his full segment below:
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