When it comes to Trump, stay out of it
The Show: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Season 3, Episode 19 The Moment: The bed of nails Near the end of a segment about the just-concluded U.S. political conventions, host John Oliver addresses the camera: “Donald Trump has said countless awful things throughout this campaign, any of which would disqualify any other candidate. He hasn’t said one crazy thing; he’s said thousands of crazy things, each of which blunts the effects of the others. It’s the bed of nails principle. If you step on one nail, it hurts you. If you step on a thousand nails, no single one stands out and you’re fine.”
Oliver, um, hits the nail on the head here.
Remember when pundits proclaimed that Trump bottomed out when he belittled John McCain’s military service? That was a year ago to the day he insulted the Kahn family. He is Teflon.
We have a long campaign ahead. We must figure out another way to discuss Trump. Because he’s like Rob Ford: the more we report exactly what he says, the more his sup- porters complain the media picks on him.
We should take the advice Seth Meyers offered to Hillary Clinton on his talk show Wednesday night: Stay out of it. “Trump is digging his own grave,” Meyers said. “Leave it to the Republicans to comment. Because right now, those guys have to be feeling like Dr. Frankenstein. ‘Oh, he did what? Threw a little girl down a well? No, no, we still endorse him.’ ”
There is no bottom to Trump’s idiocy. Let’s stop hoping for one and instead turn our focus on those who still support him.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver airs Sundays at 11 p.m. on HBO Canada.
Johanna Schneller is a media connoisseur who zeroes in on pop-culture moments. She usually appears Monday through Thursday.