John Oliver on Orlando Shooting: Terrorist Is ‘Vastly Outnumbered’
John Oliver opened Sunday’s episode of Last Week Tonight with a heartbroken statement about the Orlando shooting – the deadliest mass shooting in American history – which left at least 50 dead and 53 injured.
“The worst thing is, this pain is so familiar,” said the host. “In Paris last November, terrorists seemed to target places symbolizing everything that is wonderful about France: culture, music, restaurants. And, in Orlando, early this morning, the gunman attacked a Latin night at a gay club in the theme-park capital of the world.
“And for the record,” Oliver said, “I will happily embrace Latin night at a gay club at the theme-park capital of the world as the ultimate symbol of what is truly wonderful about America.”
The host ended his remarks with a statement of hope. “For right now, on a day when some dipshit terrorist wants us to focus on one man’s act of brutality and hatred, it might be worth seeing this video,” he said, cutting to a Twitter clip showing hundreds of Floridians in line to donate blood. “It kind of reminds you that that terrorist dipshit is vastly outnumbered,” he said.
After the shooting, President Obama addressed the nation, calling the incident a “further reminder how easy it is for people to get their hands on a weapon that lets them shoot people in a school, or in a house of worship, or a movie theater, or in a nightclub.”
“We have to decide if that’s the kind of country we want to be,” the President said. “To actively do nothing is a decision as well.”
Adele opened her concert in Belgium with a poignant tribute to the victims of the Orlando shooting. Watch here.