John Oliver Fights Back Tears as He Explains Decision to Vote for Kamala Harris: 'I Love This Country'

Mar. 15, 2025

John Oliver, Kamala Harris.Photo:Last Week Tonight/YouTube; Andrew Harnik/Getty

Last Week Tonight/YouTube; Andrew Harnik/Getty

John Oliverappeared emotional as he explained his decision to vote forKamala Harrison the finalLast Week Tonightepisode before the2024 presidential election.

On Sunday’s Nov. 3 episode of the show, the British host, 47 — who moved to the U.S. in 2006 before becoming a U.S. citizen in 2019 — insisted he’s “proud to be an American” while explaining the importance of elections.

“Elections alone aren’t sufficient for large-scale change, but they’re absolutely necessary for it to ever happen,” Oliver shared. “Because it’s the day when you essentially get to choose who you’d prefer to be pushing for the next four years and where you’ll be pushing them from.”

“I’d argue there is nothing more American than having a healthy, adversarial relationship with those in power, even if you voted for them,” Oliver added, after referencing Lee Greenwood’s 1984 track “God Bless the U.S.A.” and saying he was “proud to be an American.”

Acknowledging his speech hadn’t been “very uplifting,” Oliver countered that he’d be “genuinely excited” for a time when Republican candidate and former PresidentDonald Trumpwouldn’t be running for president.

“If Donald Trump loses this election, he’s basically finished,” Oliver claimed on the show.

John Oliver explains decision to vote for Kamala Harris on ‘Last Week Tonight’.Last Week Tonight/YouTube

Last Week Tonight/YouTube

He told viewers, “I know he would put us through hell before he left the stage, but when the dust settled, he’d have lost two elections in a row and would be campaigning as an 82-year-old next time. I think he’d be done.”

“And doesn’t that sound great? I know the problems that he’s a symptom of would, of course, remain, but we wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore. Wouldn’t it be great to live in a world where he’s no longer an active threat, just an annoyance?” Oliver went on.

He concluded, “I want so badly to live in that world. And I hope everyone does everything in their power in the next 48 hours to make that world possible.”

John Oliver.Last Week Tonight/YouTube

Oliver is one of many celebrities speaking out about Tuesday’s election.

On Saturday,Harrison Fordannouncedhe was backing Kamala Harris for president, marking his first official political endorsement.

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Donald Trump, Kamala Harris.Steven Hirsch-Pool/Getty; David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty

Steven Hirsch-Pool/Getty; David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty

“I’m Harrison Ford, doing something I never thought I’d do,” Ford began his video statement, which was shared with PEOPLE. “Telling people I’ve never met who I’m voting for and why I think they might do the same.”

source: people.com