John oliver explains why william barr could be the most dangerous part of a 2nd trump term

Since becoming U.S. attorney general, William Barr "has been in the news constantly, and almost never for good reasons," John Oliver said on Sunday's _Last Week Tonight_.

"In just the past few months, he has, among other things, sown distrust in mail-in voting and also dismissed public health measures in the middle of a pandemic, in the grossest possible

way." Strikingly, when President Trump nominated Barr 18 months ago, "the news was basically greeted with relief" there would finally be an "adult in the room,"

Oliver said. "Look, not only is being an adult an absurdly low bar to set for the highest levels of government, but it also implies that the main problem with Trump is that he is

childish. And I know that it makes for a fun balloon now and again, but at its core, 'I wish that white nationalist with an authoritarian streak would act his age' is sort of

missing the point here." It's also "worth remembering, some adults are a--holes, and Barr is very much one of them," Oliver said. "But he is also very much more: He

is a driven, deeply moralistic man with extreme views on executive power, actually making him one of the more dangerous figures in the Trump administration — which I know is saying

something. But if Trump gets a second term, Barr is only going to be more dangerous going forward." He ran through Barr's lifelong "veneration of authority," fervent

belief "in something known as the unitary executive theory," and why he could only "fully test his belief that the president answers to absolutely nobody" when Trump was

elected. SUBSCRIBE TO THE WEEK Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives. SUBSCRIBE & SAVE SIGN UP FOR THE WEEK'S FREE

NEWSLETTERS From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News

Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. "And while Trump has been grumbling lately that Barr should have done more to punish his political enemies, when

it comes to playing defense for Trump, Barr has been relentless," Oliver said. Trump may be "Barr's dream president, someone who is the ideal vessel for Barr's

decades-long pursuit of a unitary executive," and if they get a second term to pursue their "case that a moral order must be imposed, and by force," it will be "very,

very dangerous" for America. Because "Barr isn't just fighting to give the president power on principle, he wants to give _this_ president power so he will use it against the

people that Barr thinks are ruining society," he said. There's a bit of NSFW language. Watch below. Peter Weber Explore More Zurich Speed Reads