Donald Trump, ‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’ battle over supposed ‘invite’

Did John Oliver or “Last Week Tonight” really invite Donald Trump to appear on the show? Despite what the Presidential candidate may say, it feels at the moment like the needle is clearly pointed towards “no” on this one.

Let us begin here by examining some of the evidence, starting with the appearance from Oliver on “CBS This Morning” late this past week, where he claimed that he does not have any interest at all in talking to Trump. He described the candidate as an “open book,” but that the “book doesn’t have that many interesting words in it.”

Oliver’s disinterest in election topics stems far beyond just The Donald, though; he has yet to have any current candidate appear on the show, and has said repeatedly that he does not want to devote time on his HBO show, which is only once a week for most of the year, to stories on something more than a week away. As a matter of fact, he’s spent more time this fall covering the Canadian Prime Minister election than one in America.

Of course, these comments did not go without a reply from Trump. Not long after the “CBS This Morning” interview, the candidate posted a tweet blasting “Last Week Tonight” and saying that he was invited.

Meanwhile, “Last Week Tonight” had some humor in their response.

If this was any other show, we’d be more inclined to believe Trump. The point of contention here is that “Last Week Tonight” doesn’t need ratings gimmicks; it has already been renewed for multiple seasons, is a big hit on HBO despite the “low ratings” claim, and also is a titan on YouTube. The fact that it was an Emmy nominee speaks highly to his quality.

Yes, Trump is a tremendous ratings magnet, but there’s no need for him here. “Saturday Night Live” can take many of his followers instead this coming weekend.