John Oliver took a jab at — who else? — Donald Trump in the opening segment of Sunday’s Last Week Tonight.
But first, there’s a lot of backstory to explain, for those who missed it, and it all has to do with McDonald’s, which has been in the news a lot of late.
First, an E. coli outbreak was linked to an item on the fast-food chain’s menu in recent days. Initially, it was believed that Quarter Pounders were to blame for at least one death and 75 other customers becoming ill across 13 states. However, on Sunday, McDonald’s said that testing ruled out the beef patties as the cause. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said it now believes the source of the outbreak is slivered onions. As of Sunday, McDonald’s said it would be putting Quarter Pounders back on the menu but without the onions.
Meanwhile, Republican presidential nominee Trump made a campaign stop at a McDonald’s in suburban Philadelphia last Sunday. He worked the fry station before answering questions through the drive-through window. The fast-food chain said it doesn’t endorse candidates but the owner-operator of the location, Derek Giacomantonio, reached out after he learned of Trump’s desire to visit a Pennsylvania restaurant.
“Upon learning of the former president’s request, we approached it through the lens of one of our core values: we open our doors to everyone,” the company said. “McDonald’s does not endorse candidates for elected office and that remains true in this race for the next president. We are not red or blue — we are golden.”
Trump’s opponent, Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, has said during her campaign many times that she once worked at McDonald’s. Harris has accused her of lying, and McDonald’s has said it doesn’t have records for all positions going back to the ’80s but is proud of “Harris’ fond memories working under the arches.”
On Sunday night, HBO‘s Oliver made one quip that tied all of the news together in his opening segment.
“An E. coli outbreak was tied to McDonald’s but was still somehow the second most revolting thing inside of one this week,” he joked, showing a photo of Trump standing at the drive-through window.
Oliver spent the rest of his show focusing on immigration in not one but two main segments, outlining Trump’s policies and urging voters to pick Harris in the upcoming election. He also took a look at the complicated history of using Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” at citizenship ceremonies. It ended with a music video of Will Ferrell singing a patriotic song that Oliver says he will pay the government to start using at those ceremonies.
