HBO’s John Oliver mocks Democratic convention: ‘Zoom cast reunion’ of 2008 Republican event

HBO’s John Oliver mocked the Democratic National Convention’s virtual presentation, with the “Last Week Tonight” host comparing its speeches to a “Zoom cast reunion” of the 2008 Republican National Convention.

“A lot of time was given to Republicans like [Quibi CEO] Meg Whitman, Colin Powell and John Kasich, who delivered his remarks standing at a literal crossroads,” said Oliver Sunday night. “And it’s hard to convince progressive voters you’re a forward-looking party when your convention feels like a Zoom cast reunion, except the show is the 2008 RNC.”

Oliver’s critique largely focused on Republican speakers at the Democratic convention. Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) and Colin Powell, who served as secretary of state in the George W. Bush administration, were given more speaking time than Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) during the mostly virtual convention, which wrapped up last week with the nomination of former Vice President Joe Biden.

Oliver also noted Sunday that Biden “played it safe, showcasing his warmth and his empathy,” but provided few policy details.

“While he name-checked broad goals like expanding child care or ending racism, the speech was light on detail,” the host said.

“I’m honestly not saying it’s a mistake for the DNC to spend four days pointing out that Joe Biden’s not Donald Trump. It’s a very attractive quality,” Oliver later added. “But spending so much of their convention underscoring Trump’s unfitness for office may have been redundant, given that Trump spent the entire week basically making that case for them, by continuing to sow distrust of voting by mail, calling for a boycott of an American company that employs over 60,000 workers [Goodyear], and refusing to disavow the QAnon conspiracy theory.”

The Republican National Convention kicks off Monday, with President Trump giving his acceptance speech on Thursday night from the White House.