John Oliver's Important Endorsements Ahead Of RNC

In a very important, very serious web exclusive episode of Last Week Tonight, John Oliver endorsed a list of random things ahead of the Republican and Democratic national conventions.

Endorsements are undoubtedly a big deal in politics, especially when running for president. For some, a prominent or influential endorsement could determine their success in the presidential race. A few of this election cycle's interesting endorsements include: Sarah Silverman for Bernie Sanders, which probably had Hillary Clinton worried; a North Korean state media editorial endorsed Donald Trump; and Mike Pence endorsed Ted Cruz. (Yes, the same Pence who is now Trump's vice presidential candidate.)

The past year has been so crazy for politics that Oliver said the presidential election has now been renamed as, "Uncle Sam's Rock-Bottom Yankee Doodle Suicide Pact." He went on to tout some of Clinton's endorsements thus far, which include people like Gloria Steinem, Stevie Wonder, and Oprah. Without holding back, Oliver changed his tone a bit when mentioning two of Trump's endorsers, Stephen Baldwin and Kid Rock. And the hilarious Last Week Tonight host changed his tone even further when he rattled of his own list of endorsements, which, unsurprisingly, had nothing to do with politics and everything to do with animals.

First up on the list of Oliver's ever-important endorsements: animals wearing people clothes because they are "charming and a wholesome delight." Agreed. Interspecies friendships — like a dog and goat best friend pair — received Oliver's "unqualified endorsement" next. Straying from his animal related endorsements, Oliver made the very important endorsement of gingham shirts paired "with ties that you wouldn't think go, but somehow kinda go."

And Oliver's final endorsement was for the movie Pushing Tin, starring John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton. And though I haven't seen this film, his reasoning for endorsing it has me sold already: "If you are looking for a snooze in the middle of an overcast Sunday afternoon, Pushing Tin will knock you the f*ck out." Count me in.

Oliver's list of random things that he endorsed were almost as good as Trump's endorsements from "an angry owl in an abandoned barn" and "the sound of a motorcycle peeling out of a White Castle parking lot," which, of course, Oliver made up. Even while on hiatus Oliver has continued to give us these bite-sized web exclusives that get at the hard-hitting issues, like animal endorsements, and for that I'll be forever grateful.

Images: Last Week Tonight/HBO (1)