HBO’s John Oliver dedicated just about his entire show Sunday to what he termed “threats to the free press” by using President Donald Trump and his allies.

In a hot rant on Closing Week Tonight, Oliver touched on the various administration’s battles with media shops — beginning with Trump’s latest standoff in opposition to ABC Information. Closing Monday, Trump fumed at ABC correspondent Rachel Scott over a question she asked about the $400 million luxurious plane the Safety Division regularly occurring from the royal domestic of Qatar.

“What do you say to individuals who view that luxury jet as a non-public reward to you?” Scott requested Trump — who replied that Scott “will have to be embarrassed asking that.”

Oliver referred to as that an “entirely authentic query,” and proceeded to play what he referred to as a “chilling” remark from Trump in March at DOJ headquarters.

“I consider that CNN and MSDNC, who actually write ninety seven.6% bad about me, are political hands of the Democrat party,” Trump mentioned. “And in my view they’re really corrupt, and they’re illegal. What they do is prohibited. And it has to forestall. It has to be unlawful.”

Oliver known as that comment “clearly extremely bad,” and argued the president’s rhetoric and actions toward the media has let to “some owners of press retailers [getting] more submissive.” Specifically, Oliver referred to as out Washington Put up owner Jeff Bezos for killing the paper’s endorsement of former Vice President Kamala Harris in advance of the election, and for facilitating the Publish‘s “exceedingly gentler” coverage of Trump. Oliver slammed Bezos for Amazon dispensing a pronounced $40 million on a documentary about Melania Trump, and for standing straight away behind Trump at his inauguration in January.

“Come on!” Oliver said. “That’s not simply bending the knee. That’s bending both knees, arching your back, and enjoyable your holes!”

The HBO host introduced, “As threats to the free press appear to be on the upward push resistance to them seems to be waning.” Amongst a couple of examples, he known as out Paramount boss Shari Redstone for getting into contract talks with the president over his lawsuit in opposition to CBS over the editing in its 60 Minutes interview with Harris final fall. The sale of Paramount to Skydance Media will require approval from Trump’s FCC — a reality which is widely believed to be moving Redstone to settle Trump’s lawsuit.

Oliver performed feedback Redstone made a number of years in the past wherein he stated she “had the nerve to position herself as a defender of a free press.”

“Press freedom isn’t assured,” Redstone said. “It must constantly be defended. And… it incessantly comes at a significant cost each private and professional.”

“If media house owners benefit from the applause they get after they say things like that,” Oliver stated, “now could be the time to pay for it.

Watch above, by way of HBO.

The publish John Oliver Scorches Trump’s ‘Threats to the Free Press’ in Fiery 28-Minute Rant first regarded on Mediaite.