The “Last Week Tonight” host rips into Trump administration’s chaotic mishandling of leaked Yemen war chat, emojis included
New York, March 31:
Comedian and political commentator John Oliver didn’t hold back on the latest episode of Last Week Tonight as he tore into the Trump administration’s mishandling of the now-infamous “Signalgate” scandal — a chaotic episode involving leaked discussions of Yemen airstrikes in a Signal group chat that mistakenly included The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg.
What was supposed to be a secure government channel became an unintentional media leak when National Security Advisor Michael Waltz reportedly added Goldberg to the Signal group, which contained sensitive war planning details. Initially, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth downplayed the chat’s content, but The Atlantic soon published incriminating messages — proving the administration’s backpedaling.
Oliver skewered the administration’s clumsy response:
“The White House tried to do damage control all week, from playing semantic games about whether these were ‘technically’ war plans to suggesting Goldberg somehow added himself to the chat — a theory completely debunked by a screenshot literally showing Waltz adding him,” he said.
But Oliver’s sharpest criticism came when highlighting the casual and emoji-laced responses of officials after U.S. airstrikes in Yemen — attacks that allegedly killed up to 46 civilians in a single day.
“It’s grotesque to see the glib response in the chat afterward,” Oliver said. “Waltz posted fist, American flag, fire emoji, and another official replied with prayer hands, muscle, flag, flag. Let’s be honest — the right emojis to send after a bombing are no emojis.”
Calling the behavior “infuriatingly unserious,” Oliver added:
“This is a motif for this administration: deeply unserious people doing deeply stupid things with massively serious consequences.”
He closed the segment with a sarcastic “love letter” delivered in emoji form, flashing the middle finger, peach, heart, and American flag across the screen as he said:
“Go f*** yourselves, a**holes. Love, America.”
The segment has gone viral on social media, with critics and commentators echoing Oliver’s outrage over the administration’s alarming nonchalance in a deadly situation.