John Oliver Explains the Brexit Vote and Why the UK Shouldn’t Leave the EU

If you think the recent rise in toxic politics and jingoist rhetoric that has propelled Trump’s campaign is somehow uniquely American, let John Oliver explain the Brexit vote to you. On Thursday the United Kingdom will vote on a referendum on whether the country should withdraw from the European Union or not. I won’t pretend to have a strong opinion on this issue, but it definitely seems like the people most vehemently in favor of leaving the Union aren’t the kinds of people you’d probably want to associate with, considering one of them just assassinated a Member of Parliament who campaigned for remaining in the EU. In this segment from Last Week Tonight Oliver makes the case that the British politicians in favor of leaving the EU are the UK equivalent to the Tea Party and the right-wing AM talk radio culture found in America, using misleading stats and mendacious arguments to make their cause seem more substantial than mere nationalism. Take a look at the video above if you’ve seen that word Brexit all over Twitter the last few weeks and wondered what it was all about. And make sure you stick around ‘til the end to see a beautiful British serenade to the European Union.