John Oliver Exposes a “Hard-Core MAGA Candidate” Running in Tennessee

Although Last Week Tonight’s John Oliver missed the first round of Kevin McCarthy jabs following the representative’s ouster as House Speaker, he did manage to criticize the current state of the GOP on Sunday night. The Republican Party, Oliver said, “is being controlled by the absolute extremes—but not just nationally, at the local level too.”

Before delving into Sunday’s main topic, homeschooling, Oliver introduced viewers to Gabrielle Hanson, a real estate agent and town alderman running against the incumbent Republican mayor in Franklin, Tennessee. “She’s branded herself as a hard-core MAGA candidate,” Oliver said, while showing photos of Hanson at Donald Trump’s Florida compound, Mar-a-Lago. “Look how happy she is there. That’s the face of someone who’s just dined out on a well-done steak and read some classified documents on the toilet.”

And as a NewsChannel 5 investigative reporter Phil Williams—whom Oliver dubbed “Nashville’s nosiest bitch”—has found, Hanson also has a laundry list of controversies. They include allegedly lying about dining with a diverse group of supporters and criticizing a Juneteenth celebration at a Nashville airport, as well as being supported by members of a white nationalist group. (Hanson denied being affiliated with the group.) 

Hanson also attempted to block a Pride event earlier this year, and voiced her concerns about the event by holding up a photo of a participant dressed in drag as Elmo and classifying it as a confusing threat to children. “But by that logic, we should ban children from walking around Times Square too,” Oliver argued. “Because seeing Olaf from Frozen with his head popped off, smoking a Black & Mild, is way more confusing than someone wearing eye shadow in an Elmo-themed bodysuit.” Oliver also properly identified the drag queen as Jaidynn Diore Fierce—a contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race season seven who is “constantly serving cartoon looks.” 

“Have you ever seen a Minion serve body?” Oliver added. “Because you have now.”

Oliver then pointed out the hypocrisy of Hanson’s statement by showing a photo of her husband wearing nothing but an American flag Speedo, reportedly on a dare from his wife, while attending 2008’s Chicago Pride Parade. “So to recap,” Oliver said. “Snatched Elmo: irreparably harmful to children. Star-spangled ball bag: That’s apparently completely fine with her.”

Oliver concluded that Hanson was emblematic of the “vise-like grip” that far-right Republicans have on the party amid McCarthy’s axing. “In a world that made sense, this woman would obviously have withdrawn from this mayoral race in shame—but she still has supporters,” Oliver noted. “And there’s a real chance she could still win this election, because while her numerous scandals are clearly almost cartoonish in their extremity, her behavior is entirely emblematic of Republican politics, from the local level all the way up to the top.”