John Oliver on Trump’s last week: ‘We are supposed to live in a country of checks and balances’

<p>The Last Week Tonight host recapped Trump’s week of authoritarian moves and dug into issues with Medicare Advantage plans</p><p>John Oliver opened his latest episode of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/john-oliver">Last Week Tonight</a> with footage of Donald Trump’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/25/what-is-the-white-house-east-wing-and-why-has-it-been-torn-down-in-trumps-renovation-plans">partial demolition</a> of the East Wing of the White House to make room for his $300m, 90,000sq ft gilded ballroom. “Those images are distressing, especially when you know it’s all to build a giant ballroom in a style best described as ‘Med Spa Versailles’,” he said. “And yet, the demolition of the White House, a metaphor that, if anything, is too on the nose, was just the tip of Trump’s iceberg this week.”</p><p>Oliver also noted Trump’s demand that the justice department pay him $230m as restitution for the legal cases it pursued against him when he left office in 2021 – a demand that would be rubber-stamped by two members of his own cabinet.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/oct/27/john-oliver-trump-ballroom-healthcare">Continue reading...</a>