Last Week Tonight with John Oliver explains Boris Johnson’s rise in Great Britain

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver returned from vacation to look at why Boris Johnson has succeed despite so many mistakes along the way.

Things are finally starting to get back to normal in the world of late night. After a three week break, Last Week Tonight returned with a brand new episode. John Oliver’s look at new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson proved that the comedian didn’t have to shake off any rust in his return.

Johnson’s election as prime minister has brought even more uncertainty to Great Britain as its deadline to officially withdraw from the European Union draws closer. Johnson is a controversial figure who has made some questionable remarks in the past.

John Oliver has been doing his best to keep his viewers informed about Brexit–a topic that plays a massive part in Johnson’s election. He has dedicated multiple segments of Last Week Tonight to explaining Brexit and its potential effects.

With Johnson’s election and the reaction from both inside and outside of Great Britain, Oliver took time in his latest episode to explain just how Johnson became prime minster. As Oliver explains, Johnson’s slip ups have been a positive rather than a negative.

Oliver jumps right in by familiarizing his audience with Boris Johnson and it is not exactly a flattering portrait of the new prime minister. Oliver shows off some awkward photos of Johnson before riffing on Johnson’s leisure time activity of painting buses on wooden crates.

Comparisons between Johnson and U.S. President Donald Trump are then explained by Oliver as not exactly wrong but not quite right either. While Oliver has similarly discussed how Trump’s presidency is defined by incompetence, the situation with Johnson is a bit more complex.

Oliver declares that the key to Boris Johnson is presenting his lack of preparation in such a charming way that you doubt he is unprepared when in fact, he is unprepared. That stands in contrast to Trump in that many people are fully aware of how unaware he is in office.

Johnson has taken this strategy even further by applying it to his appearance. Oliver breaks down how Johnson portrays himself more relatable by messing up his hair or dressing oddly to in part distance himself from the more polished and privileged of Great Britain. It is an an effective way of behaving as Oliver admits.

Oliver spends the second half of the segment explaining how the true calculations behind this behavior can be a bit unsettling. He discusses how Johnson can use his public image to control the narratives, much like how he did as an unethical journalist covering the European Union.

Overall, this segment is a perfect example of what makes Last Week Tonight so popular. Oliver is able to educate his audiences in an entertaining and clever fashion. It makes it easy to see why the show continues to stack up Emmy nominations year after year. Of course, audiences are getting these lessons through Oliver’s own perspective but it is clear that millions of fans want to hear from Oliver on these topics.

Fans are no doubt excited to see Last Week Tonight with John Oliver return. Season six will continue through the rest of the summer and fall so there will be plenty of time for Oliver to cover Boris Johnson and the ongoing Brexit saga.