John Oliver Mocked Donald Trump’s “If You Don’t Love Kids” Remark in Campaign Video Aimed at Farmers

Former President Donald Trump's speech in a campaign video aimed at farmers took an unusual turn, attracting the attention and ridicule of comedian John Oliver on his HBO show, Last Week Tonight. The video, which was posted on March 17, 2023, featured Trump bragging about his alleged contributions to the agricultural community during his presidency, specifically addressing the issue of farm inheritance taxes. 

As per The Hollywood Reporter article from March 19, 2023, the campaign video emphasized Trump's claims of making farmers "happy and rich again" while also emphasizing his role in removing the farm death tax. In the video, he says, “I made farmers happy and rich again, and they’re doing a fantastic job. And you know what? Someday it’ll become time for them to leave this beautiful Earth, and they’ll be able to leave their farm without taxes to their children."

The unexpected turn of events took place when Trump said, "I got rid of the death tax on farms so that when you do pass away, on the assumption that you love your children, you can leave it to them and they won’t have to pay tax. But if you don’t love your children so much — and there are some people that don’t, and maybe deservedly so — it won’t matter because frankly, you don’t have to leave him anything. Thank you very much. Have fun."

On Last Week Tonight, John Oliver played a clip from the campaign video. "I mean, he’s still got it," Oliver remarked sarcastically. "He has still got it, and by ‘it,’ I mean, whatever it is that is so deeply wrong with his brain." Oliver went on to question the relevance of such a statement in the middle of a political speech, "Do you know how much you have to hate your kids to get distracted by that thought in the middle of a political speech?” He said, “We should have pulled out troops from the region sooner. Speaking of regretting not pulling out sooner: Don Jr."

Oliver's remark about Trump's apparent distraction in his speech raises concerns about the former president's focus and priorities. The digression about not loving one's children enough to leave them an inheritance seemed out of place in a video purportedly aimed at farmers. The use of such language, as well as the implication that some people may not love their children, added an unusual twist to an otherwise standard political message.

Trump is currently facing multiple legal challenges, including state and federal investigations into his business and political activities, per NY Times. These legal issues have resulted in four separate lawsuits and indictments: two by special counsel Jack Smith, one by the Manhattan district attorney, and one by local prosecutors in Georgia. Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, has filed a civil suit against Trump and his adult sons, accusing them of fraudulently inflating the former president's net worth by billions of dollars.