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John Oliver Hasn't Focused On Elizabeth Warren Yet
John Oliver has focused on many figures in Washington, D.C., during his 20-minute takedowns for his HBO show, Last Week Tonight. Just take last week's focus on Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. While they may have faced a particularly tough reception by the host, that is far from the first time Oliver has taken people in power to task. Yet there is one prominent politician who has been MIA from the show. Has John Oliver ever said anything about Elizabeth Warren? The senate Democrat from Massachusetts has yet to be lambasted by the news comedian, but it's probably because they agree on too much.
Normally Oliver goes after hypocritical D.C. figures — or at least contradictory reporting on people whose policies he does care for. So, perhaps, when it comes to Warren, he just agrees with her too much. The closest Oliver has come to mentioning her on his show is when he took a page from her book and went after Wells Fargo for their banking scandal earlier this year. Essentially employees of the bank opened new accounts for customers without their knowledge:
Hidden fees are bad enough without being hidden inside hidden accounts with hidden pin numbers made with hidden email addresses – because that’s like a Russian nesting doll where the last doll is giving you the middle finger.
This is also the kind of thing that makes Warren's blood boil. She told the same CEO John Stumpf that Oliver mocked that he should step down. "You should resign. You should give back the money that you took while this scam was going on, and you should be criminally investigated by both the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission," Warren told Stumpf at a Senate Banking Committee hearing.
One aspect of Oliver's show that differentiates it from The Daily Show, the program he got started on, is that he doesn't have a segment where he interviews guests. If so, Warren would likely have been featured. She has been interviewed by Trevor Noah and was a semi-regular guest for Jon Stewart. But Oliver thus far hasn't worked in a time to chat with anybody. He usually has so much news to fit into the show that there just isn't time — especially now under the Trump administration.
That's not to say Oliver won't focus some of his comedic reporting on Warren in the future should there be something funny to say. He's definitely not one to hold back. For now though, she just must be too sensible and straightforward to have come in his sights.