HBO’s John Oliver began Sunday’s Last Week Tonight in a good mood as he celebrated various Democratic victories. However, this good mood didn’t last long, as he devoted most of his energy not to affordability or any of voters’ concerns, but to his demand to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whom he referred to as “this fucking asshole.”
Oliver was excited that Democrats managed to check off several of their desired diversity boxes on Election Day when he hyped, “There were so many incredible wins, it was hard to even process them because one second, you're realizing Democrats will now have 22 state trifectas. Next it hits you that New Hampshire's newly elected senator thanked his husband in his acceptance speech, and Deb Haaland is now America's first female Native American governor, while also, by the way, being the first governor ever to have dressed as Erling Haaland for Halloween. That's huge! And before that can sink in, you remember Georgia just elected Keisha Lance Bottoms, the country's first black woman governor.”
He also hyped Abdul El-Sayed’s Michigan victory while also making fun of an unnamed Rep. Haley Stevens, “Abdul El-Sayed won in Michigan, meaning all the hateful shit thrown his way didn't work, and also that this woman imploded her own political career for nothing.”
John Oliver was in a happy mood on Sunday, "There were so many incredible wins, it was hard to even process them...and Abdul El-Sayed won in Michigan, meaning all the hateful shit thrown his way didn't work, and also that this woman [Haley Stevens] imploded her own political… pic.twitter.com/1XamLsm9MT
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) November 10, 2026
Perhaps the senator Oliver was most happy to see lose was the GOP’s most liberal member, “Then you realize Susan Collins lost, too, and decades of having to listen to her express ‘reservation’ about something before going ahead and doing it anyway, are finally fucking over.”
Oliver was also happy to gloat about Elon Musk, “Then it hits you, Elon Musk wasted so much money. The half a billion dollars he spent to try and buy the election just went up in flames faster than a parked Cybertruck.”
Later, Oliver turned to his main topic of the night: Pete Hegseth. Most of what Oliver said was a rehashing of things from Hegseth’s confirmation battle. There was talk about his tattoos and his thoughts about wokeness, but eventually, Oliver turned to the mistaken strike on an Iranian school in the early days of the war. Oliver admitted he had no proof that Hegseth is to blame for the failure to correctly identify the school as a civilian building, but that was not going to stop him from doing so anyway:
And look, I can't say that if Hegseth hadn't gutted the Civilian Harm Mitigation program, that it would've definitely prevented that strike. But this tragedy sure feels like the symptom of a military that seems to care a lot more about ‘lethalitymaxxing’ than actual human beings. And while I know this is rough, it is worth hearing what that strike did on the ground.
After some footage from a BBC reporter, Oliver teed up a clip from a May segment on PBS News Hour, “Yeah, that's utterly heartbreaking, and it was completely avoidable. And being furious at the people that did it makes complete sense. But I also want you to hear from this 11-year-old girl who was in the school that day, because the distinction she draws at the end of this clip is just beyond generous.”
In the video, 11-year old Rayhaneh Mehdi Khah said via a translator that, “It's just the government that's cruel and dirty. Most people in America are good. They know this is not right.”
So, how did Oliver spend the rest of his first show after the midterms? By talking about affordability? Of course not. He ranted at Pete Hegseth, "I can't say that if Hegseth hadn't gutted the Civilian Harm Mitigation program, that it would've definitely prevented that strike [on… pic.twitter.com/lEHXOKCIoD
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) November 10, 2026
Oliver responded by suggesting she was being too kind, “Wow, it's truly damning that an 11-year-old is somehow displaying more integrity and moral clarity than Pete Hegseth has ever shown in his entire fucking life. And while I'd love to say that we're worthy of that level of trust from her, at this point, I'm not so sure.”
He added, “Especially because all this was completely foreseeable, and yet Hegseth was confirmed anyway, which should be a lasting stain on every single person who did it. Look, there's clearly damage here that can't be undone, but the very least we can do is try and stem it by impeaching and removing this fucking asshole as soon as possible. And ideally, in a way that also ensures he'll be barred from ever holding future federal office. Because it's not like he's ever going to change.”
Oliver should’ve stopped after he said “I can’t say” because as hard as it may be for him to understand, the Secretary of Defense is not personally micromanaging target lists. It is fair for Oliver to want to know why the list was not updated, but calling into question the entire nation’s moral character because a GOP Senate confirmed Hegseth is absurd.
Here is a transcript for the November 8 show:
HBO Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
11/8/2026
11:03 PM ET
JOHN OLIVER: There were so many incredible wins, it was hard to even process them because one second, you're realizing Democrats will now have 22 state trifectas. Next it hits you that New Hampshire's newly elected senator thanked his husband in his acceptance speech, and Deb Haaland is now America's first female Native American governor, while also, by the way, being the first governor ever to have dressed as Erling Haaland for Halloween. That's huge! And before that can sink in, you remember Georgia just elected Keisha Lance Bottoms, the country's first black woman governor, and Abdul El-Sayed won in Michigan, meaning all the hateful shit thrown his way didn't work, and also that this woman imploded her own political career for nothing.
Then you realize Susan Collins lost, too, and decades of having to listen to her express "reservations" about something before going ahead and doing it anyway, are finally fucking over. Then it hits, you Elon Musk wasted so much money. The half a billion dollars he spent to try and buy the election just went up in flames faster than a parked Cybertruck.
…
The signs of that were visible for nearly a decade, and pretty hard to miss, given aerial images clearly show a soccer pitch, line-up zones, play area markings, and brightly painted walls. In fact, the school had its own website and was labeled on Google maps. And when you can use the same technology to find out that's a school, that you can use to locate the fucking cop slide in Boston, it feels like that's something you should've done.
And look, I can't say that if Hegseth hadn't gutted the Civilian Harm Mitigation program, that it would've definitely prevented that strike. But this tragedy sure feels like the symptom of a military that seems to care a lot more about "lethalitymaxxing" than actual human beings. And while I know this is rough, it is worth hearing what that strike did on the ground.
MASOUMEH MEHRAN SHEKABADI [English subtitles on screen]: The school had gone. There was only the smell of smoke and children’s hair. I saw a hand, a foot. They had been torn to pieces. I called out to Setayesh, “Where are you? You were fasting…You’ll suffocate in this smoke.”
BBC REPORTER: Like many of the parents here, her grief has become intertwined with anger.
SHEKABADI [English subtitles on screen]: May Trump be destroyed. May he drown in the blood of these children. May he be struck down with suffering.
OLIVER: Yeah, that's utterly heartbreaking, and it was completely avoidable. And being furious at the people that did it makes complete sense. But I also want you to hear from this 11-year-old girl who was in the school that day, because the distinction she draws at the end of this clip is just beyond generous.
RAYHANEH MEHDI KHAH [VIA TRANSLATOR]: When they hit the school, the entire building shook from side to side. The windows shattered. Everything was shaking.
REZA SAYAH: Hours later, Reyhaneh learned that she had lost her little sister, a first grader at the school. Rayhaneh says she has hate in her heart for what happened to her sister, but not for the American people.
KHAH [VIA TRANSLATOR]: It's just the government that's cruel and dirty. Most people in America are good. They know this is not right.
OLIVER: Wow, it's truly damning that an 11-year-old is somehow displaying more integrity and moral clarity than Pete Hegseth has ever shown in his entire fucking life. And while I'd love to say that we're worthy of that level of trust from her, at this point, I'm not so sure.
Especially because all this was completely foreseeable, and yet Hegseth was confirmed anyway, which should be a lasting stain on every single person who did it. Look, there's clearly damage here that can't be undone, but the very least we can do is try and stem it by impeaching and removing this fucking asshole as soon as possible. And ideally, in a way that also ensures he'll be barred from ever holding future federal office. Because it's not like he's ever going to change.
In fact, in the wake of Tuesday's election amid speculation he might be about to be impeached, Hegseth released a defiant video in which he condemned the impeachment and called the Iran War a "Courageous and historic effort," all while desperately sucking up to his boss.
