May 7, 2018

John Oliver Explains What the Hell Has Happened to Rudy Giuliani

The comedian takes on the newest addition to “Stupid Watergate.”

Last week, Rudy Giuliani shocked the country—and even Sean Hannity—with the revelation that President Donald Trump’s money paid for the $130,000 hush agreement involving adult film star Stormy Daniels. The subsequent clean up efforts by Trump’s newest lawyer appear to only have added to the confusion, and perhaps even the president’s mounting legal troubles.

If the week left you wondering what has happened to the man once fondly referred to as “America’s Mayor,” John Oliver is here to explain that Giuliani, in short, has pretty much always been this bonkers. “People seem to be as shocked at finding out who Giuliani really is as a child at Disney World who accidentally saw Mickey Mouse pull off his head to reveal that he was actually Tilda Swinton,” Oliver said on Last Week Tonight. “‘Not only are you not what I thought you were a moment ago, you are fucking terrifying!'”

Below, Oliver takes on Giuliani’s record to show how the former New York City mayor’s past could explain the latest addition to “Stupid Watergate.”

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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