04x18 - Local news and Sinclair Broadcast Group

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John: welcome,

Welcome, welcome

To "last week tonight."

I'm john oliver.

Thank you so much

For joining us.

And let's dive right in with

President trump.

The "bachelor in paradise" of

American presidents.

And unfortunately, we have to

Start with the fact that on

Thursday, the president sent a

Series of disgusting tweets

About "morning joe's" mika

Brzezinski, tweets that were

Absolutely indefensible.

And yet, white house press

Secretary sarah huckabee

Sanders,

The least amusing cast member in

A direct-to-dvd faith-based

Romantic comedy, gave it her

Best shot.

I think that the president

Has been att*cked mercilessly on

Personal accounts by members on

That program, and I think he has

Been very clear that when he

Gets att*cked, he's gonna hit

Back.

John: you know what?

She's kind of right:

Trump is basically a walrus

Wearing a t-shirt that says

"I have diarrhea!"

He's pretty open about how

Grossly shitty he can be.

So we can't be surprised

When he is.

But that news actually

Overshadowed a development

Regarding the president's

Travel ban, which the

Administration has long

Maintained is not a ban despite

What you may have heard from

Biased mainstream media outlets

Like the president of the united

States and the dictionary.

You may remember trump's

Original executive order

"Halted all refugee admissions

And temporarily barred people

From seven muslim-majority

Countries."

It was met with widespread

Protests and dozens of

Lawsuits, resulting in courts

Placing both the ban and trump's

Subsequent revision of that ban

On hold.

And this week, the supreme court

Weighed in.

The u.s. Supreme court has

Ruled to partially reinstate the

President's highly controversial

Travel ban before hearing

Arguments on the case in

October.

John: yes, at first the ban

Was banned, but now the court

Has partially banned the

Ban-ban, instituting a partial

Ban pending the possibility of a

Future partial-ban ban.

Now, the court did impose some

Restrictions, saying it couldn't

Apply to anyone with "a credible

Claim of a bona fide

Relationship with a person or

Entity in the united states."

So the natural question is,

What constitutes

A "bona fide relationship?"

And the trump administration

Took a swing at answering that.

The state department has

Narrowly defined that as a

Parent or child, including

In-laws, a sibling or a spouse.

The guidelines for who is

Considered close family does not

Include grandparents, aunts or

Uncles, nieces or nephews,

Cousins, and brothers or

Sisters-in-law.

John: whoa, whoa, whoa.

Grandparents aren't close

Family?

Good luck telling them that!

That would require calling them.

Which would mean a 12 or 13

Minute conversation at minimum,

A conversation that would

Inevitably involve being asked

Whether you remember jerry

Flaxman.

You know, jerry flaxman who used

To live down the street.

Jerry.

Flaxman.

You remember him.

He had the daughter with

The internet business and she's

Gay now?

Flaxman.

What was her name?

Jamie?

Either jamie or amanda.

Right, right, samanatha flaxman.

Anyway, her father is jerry

Flaxman.

And, well, he's dead.

And while the definition is

Ridiculous, the impacts of this

Ban are very real, particularly

For refugees, since the

Administration has decided that

Being assisted by a

Refugee-resettlement agency does

Not constitute a bona fide

Relationship.

Which means thousands of

Desperate people who've gone

Through exhaustive vetting and

Been approved to come here have

Now been left in the lurch.

Which is shameful.

And yet, for some, it's no big

Deal.

An attitude best exemplified by

Human lacrosse stick tucker

Carlson, who asked --

#Tucker --

Why does america benefit from

Having tons of people from

Failing countries come here?

A question that made the statue

Of liberty give up and drown

Herself in the hudson river.

And if I may point out, tucks,

Just because a nation is

Failing doesn't mean it can't

Produce some amazing people.

Just as -- and I think we all

Know who exhibit a for this is

-- A successful nation can

Produce some failed human

Beings.

#Tucker.

And look, this ban is cruel,

It's unnecessary, and it

Undermines our standing

In the world.

So you'd think the president

Would at least be justifying its

Existence.

Instead, he keeps derailing the

Conversation with his barrage of

Bullshit.

And there's no better example

Than the fact that, just this

Morning,

Abc's "this week" had a homeland

Security adviser on to discuss

The ban, but they never got

Around to it, because they had

To address yet another unhinged

Tweet.

And just watch the guy's face as

He realizes what he's about to

Have to talk about.

I want to get to security

Questions and security concerns,

But we've just had the president

Tweet a gif that I want you to

Take a look at.

You can see it right there.

Obviously president trump

Has taken some video and put

A cnn mic logo on

Who he's beating up.

John: at this point,

I have no choice but to admit

That trump was right.

There is at least one

Grandparent who poses a grave

And immediate threat to america.

And unfortunately it's the

Grandparent currently in charge

Of it.

And now this.

High announcer: I now

Meteorologist john elliott

Engages in a bit too much

Self-deprecation.

I've been cast as the wacky

Redhead for years.

I'm kind of stuff.

Yes, "diarrhea of a wimpy kid"

He had great success.

I did not like homecoming

Dance.

I had to beg janet to go with

Me, and then sarah.

She couldn't get address the

Second year.

When the package is this born,

No one cares what's inside.

They tested me.

They said I was stern,

Unapproachable, and had no

Future in television.

Gravity gets you every time.

Take it for me, the leprechaun.

You know what I like to do?

In the elevator, total

Strangers.

What are they going to do?

They can't leave.

Have some fun and say hi to

Folks.

My wife does not like my cargo

Shorts.

John: moving on.

Our main story tonight concerns

Local news.

It's mostly known for

Informative and hard-hitting

Segments like this one.

Police say one of the masked

Suspects, armed with a hand g*n,

Got out of his car, walked up to

The victim's window, pointed the

g*n right at her face, and told

Her he wanted her purse, her

Money, and her cell phone.

John: holy shit.

You gotta hand it to him.

That is a great way to make

People pay attention to a story

They might not be interested in.

With that in mind,

Our main story tonight concerns

The potential problems in

Corporate consolidation

Of local news.

Don't you dare

Change the channel.

National cable news gets a lot

Of attention, with their big

Budgets and fancy graphics

Packages.

Meanwhile, local news often has

To do a lot more with a lot

Less.

The black bear was roaming

Through tina merrison's

Back yard.

Tina was too stunned to get a

Picture but this is what the

Bear probably looked like,

Except real.

This recreation identifies how

Witnesses say the bear escaped

Into the woods.

John: you know what?

Whoever is hiding behind that

Tiny bear cutout deserves

A pulitzer.

Sure, he could have stood up and

Just walked the bear across the

Garden and it would have been

Exactly as convincing.

But he didn't.

He hunched down

Because he cares.

That man is a journalist.

And look, it's easy to make fun,

But local news fills an

Important role, finding stories

That the national news

Is missing.

This show uses local news

All the time.

Our civil forfeiture piece

Used outstanding reporting from

Tennessee's news channel 5,

And our piece on problems with



Atlanta's "11 alive."

In fact, a pew study last year

Found that local news

Is trusted more than national

News.

People absolutely love it.

So, yes, when you watch local

News, you may see something

Silly.

But you also may see something

Great.

And there's actually a third

Option.

Because in some parts of the

Country, you might see this.

I've got a message

For certain students.

Listen up closely, snowflake.

Yes, I'm talking to you.

You, the social justice warrior

Who whines for trigger warnings

And safe spaces.

Not grown-up enough to deal with

The facts?

Then hunker down in your room

And snapchat the day away with

Other social justice warriors.

College isn't a babysitting

Service.

It's time to grow up, snowflake.

John: that man is mark hyman,

With one in what I presume is a

Series featuring titles like,

"Wake up, libtard,"

"Cucked much, ya little beta

Baby?"

And "knock knock, sheeple, it's

Me, truth" with mark hyman.

Hyman is a commentator and

Former executive at

Sinclair broadcast group.

And sinclair may be the most

Influential media company you've

Never heard of.

Not only are they the largest

Owner of local tv stations in

The country, they could soon get

Even bigger.

Sinclair will pay about

$4 Billion for tribune media and

Its 42 local stations.

The combined companies will

Create the largest single group

Of television stations in

The nation.

John: wow.

It's a little disconcerting to

Learn that something you've only

Just heard of is throwing around

$4 Billion.

It's like finding out that

Exxon mobil just got bought, and

It was by the little twerp who

Plays the new spiderman.

What?

How is that possible?

How does spider-twerp have

The resources to do that?

I only just found out he

Existed!

Now, this acquisition still

Needs regulatory approval,

But it's widely assumed that'll

Happen.

At which point, sinclair's reach

Could expand dramatically.

We did some math, and found that

When you combine the

Most-watched nightly newscasts

On sinclair and tribune stations

In some of their largest

Markets, you get an average

Total viewership of



And that is a lot.

It's more than any current prime

Time show on fox news, including

"Five idiots have the most

Intolerable dinner party ever"

And "that guy from college

Everyone hated has a talk show

Now with tucker carlson".

And the fox parallels

Don't stop there.

Because sinclair's content tilts

Noticeably conservative.

Remember the snowflake guy?

Sinclair produces those segments

And sends them to their

Affiliates.

And that in itself is already

Unusual.

As best we can tell, no other

Major owner of tv stations

Distributes its own commentary

Segments to run during local

News.

And hyman's opinions

Hew hard-right.

We are threatened by a nasty

Cancer epidemic.

It's a danger to our nation.

It is political correctness

And multiculturalism.

Words that were once acceptable

In polite conversation

Are no longer.

"Handicapped" and "Ret*rded" are

Now off limits.

There is one step that's proven

To dramatically reduce domestic

v*olence.

Marriage.

I am now a proud washington

Redskins fan.

And the opinion that only black

People can legitimately have an

Afro?

Someone should tell that to

American folk singer

Art garfunkel.

John: what are you talking

About?

As I believe paul simon

Once said, "there's no need to

Involve art garfunkel in any of

This."

And the things is, hyman is not

Sinclair's

Only conservative voice.

Just recently, they hired a man

Named boris epshteyn, a former

Trump advisor, who you might

Remember from

Multiple tv appearances last

Year, where he made wild claims

Like this one.

Barack obama may have won in



Illegal voting.

Oh, my god!

Boris, where are you getting

That from?

Barack obama won in north

Carolina because of voter fraud?

5% Of voting in north

Carolina may have been by people

Who are non-citizens who

Shouldn't have been voting and

Swung north carolina

To mr. Obama.

John: obviously, that is

Nothing even resembling a fact.

The claim he's making received a

"Pants on fire" from politifact.

And even if it were true --

Which, again, it isn't --

Obama still would have beat

Mccain by 177 electoral votes.

Which raises the question:

Do trump surrogates even know

Why they're lying?

Or are they driven by some vague

Instinct, like when

A cat sits inside a box?

"Why are you doing that?"

"I have no idea.

There's just something inside me

That tells me I should."

And yet, he is now sinclair's

Chief political analyst and has

A regular segment called "bottom

Line with boris."

Let me show you a recent one,

Concerning a retracted story on

Cnn.

The bottom line is this.

Cnn, along with other cable news

Networks, is struggling to stick

To the facts and to be impartial

In covering politics in general

And this president specifically.

John: oh, come on.

That couldn't be more pot

Calling the kettle black if he

Said "the bottom line is, cnn is

A rejected extra from "the

Sopranos" in a jcpenney's tie

Whose voice sounds like

Sylvester stallone with a mouth

Full of bees.

But sinclair doesn't just lean

Right with its commentators.

Even its ad breaks sometimes put

A thumb on the scale.

In 2010, sinclair's pittsburgh

Affiliate pulled a 30-second

Democratic ad off the air after

They received a complaint and

Found that some claims in the ad

Were unsubstantiated.

And look, it's a good thing they

Were willing to take a stand to

Ensure nothing inaccurate made

Its way on-air.

Although just a few months

Later, that exact same station,

And multiple other sinclair

Outlets, aired a 25-minute

Attack ad on democrats,

Featuring assertions like this.

During his presidential

Election, he wound up with a

Record-shattering $750 million

In his campaign.

To this day, he refuses to

Report from whence it came.

One reason might be that some of

It originated from the t*rror1st

Group hamas.

John: oh, my god.

If you're going to make up scary

Donors to the obama campaign,

Why stop with hamas.

Keep going.

"He won't say where the money

Came from.

One reason may be that it

Originated with this

g*ng of coyotes that has made

Billions selling human babies to

Other hungrier coyotes."

And look, if the opinions were

Confined just to the commentary

Or to the ad breaks, that would

Be one thing.

But sinclair can sometimes

Dictate the content of your

Local newscast as well.

And in contrast to fox news,

A clearly conservative outlet

Where you know what you're

Getting, with sinclair, they're

Injecting fox-worthy content

Into the mouths of the local

News anchors,

Two people who you know and who

You trust and whose on-screen

Chemistry can usually best be

Described as "two people."

And you may not realize

It's happening.

Because sinclair, and its

"Digital news" subsidiary

Circa not only produce and send

Packages to their stations, they

Even write scripts local anchors

Can use to introduce their

Pieces.

For example, this tuesday night,

Anchors at sinclair stations all

Over the country introduced a

Story about michael flynn like

This.

Did the fbi have a personal

Vendetta in persuing the russia

Investigation of president

Trump's former national security

Adviser michael flynn?

Did the fbi have a personal

Vendetta in pursuing the russia

Investigation of president

Trump's former national security

Adviser michael flynn?

Did the fbi have a personal

Vendetta in persuing the russia

Investigation

Into president trump's former

National security adviser

Michael flynn?

Did the fbi have a personal

Vendetta in pursuing the

Investigation?

It could very well be true.

John: yeah, but you could say

"It could very well be true"

About anything.

Are all peanut m&m's just snake

Eggs painted different colors?

Do foxes walk on their hind legs

When no one is looking?

Is there really only one olsen

Twin who's moving back and forth

At superhuman speed to trick the

Human eye into seeing two of

Them?

All of those things could very

Well be true, and, aside from

That one about the olsen twins,

None of them are.

Now, the story they were teasing

Was that michael flynn had

Apparently spoken up on behalf

Of a former fbi agent

In a gender-discrimination suit

Against the agency.

But it's a huge stretch to get

From there to an agency-wide

Conspiracy to bring him down.

The problem is there's some real

Power in hearing your trusted

Local newscasters use fbi and

Personal vendetta in a sentence.

If those same newscasters

Somehow used the words

"Daniel stern" and "expl*sive

Ejaculation" in the same

Sentence, you could never watch

"Home alone" the same way again.

And sinclair's content

Can often not be optional.

They regularly send out

What are called "must-runs,"

Segments that station managers

Are directed to work into their

Broadcasts.

Both boris epshteyn and mark

Hyman's segments are must-runs.

And so are some "news" segments.

In fact, let me give you a taste

Of a "must-run" story that ran

A month before last year's

Election.

How can americans, especially

Blacks and latinos in america,

Support hillary clinton?

It's a surprising message

Coming from a black pastor, but

Evangelical bishop aubrey shines

Is spreading a message of why he

Believes hillary clinton's

Democratic party isn't good

For black americans.

The party that gave this

Country sl*very, the kkk, jim

Crow laws.

John: whoa, hold on.

First, democrats gave this

Country sl*very?

It's a little more complicated

Than that.

Sure, someone gave me

This haircut.

But I'm accountable for being

Comfortable with it, liking it,

And keeping it around for a

Morally repugnant amount of

Time.

And you can maybe, maybe see why

That could be news in florida.

"Tampa pastor makes

Crazy video."

But that piece ran in columbus,

El paso, omaha, syracuse,

Seattle, green bay,

Tulsa, and stations all over the

Country.

To be fair, sinclair didn't let

All that pastor's assertions

Go completely unchecked.

They did have the brief

Appearance of balance,

By bringing in

This political scientist to

Fact-check the video.

But he was given far less screen

Time than the pastor, and the

Voiceover undercut him at every

Turn.

Bullock says that shines

Cherry-picked his history.

But if you have the whole

Context of history and where

These -- the things are

Mentioned where they actually

Miss pieces, then you would not

Be persuaded at all.

So about that history?

When it comes to the kkk,

Historians generally agree it

Was created in post-civil w*r

Reconstruction by democrats and

Later, southern democrats were

Behind the jim crow laws.

Yes, that was the party of

The south, and as I've

Mentioned, over time, those

Parties have actually shifted in

Terms of what their membership

Base is.

John: I love his frustration

As he tries to explain that now

Is not 100 years ago.

You expect him to say,

"I'll prove it.

Neither of us are wearing bowler

Hats, and that woman has a job!"

All of which supports my theory

That, as I've mentioned, now is

Not 100 years ago.

And here's the thing.

The must-runs are not just

Individual pieces.

They're also recurring features,

Like poll questions, which can

Range from benign to pretty

Leading.

What did you think of today's

Comey testimony?

Do you think it was all about

Substance or theater?

Do you think enough is being

Done to battle street gangs in

The u.s.?

Do you trust information from

Unnamed sources in the

Washington post stories?

Why are cable news channels

Airing so much coverage of the

Trump/russia story?

So here are the options:

It's bias against the president,

For higher ratings,

Or it's a really important

Story?

John: okay, there's a clear

Slant to those questions

And answers.

I can't wait for the inevitable

Poll: how would you describe the

Way donald trump looks

In athleticwear?

A, adonis-like.

B, herculean.

C, striking for a man

Of his age.

Or d, not my thing

But I'd still hit it.

But perhaps the most troubling

Thing of all is that sinclair

Has a daily must-run segment

Called the terrorism alert desk.

That's right.

They report on terrorism

Every single day,

Whether there's something major

To report on or not.

Which means that sometimes,

The updates contain things like

This.

The company in charge of

Security says the ringleader of

The london bridge attack did

Apply for a job.

He was not interviewed and no

Interview was scheduled.

He filled out an online

Application.

An !sis flag was found

Hanging in a neighborhood in new

Hampshire.

It was taken down and police are

Looking into who put it there.

From the terrorism alert desk

In washington,

I'm lindsay mastis.

John: in other alerts:

My grandma heard a loud noise,

A man with a beard asked me

When the next bus is coming,

And iran still exists.

From the terrorism alert desk

In washington, I'm just about

Done with this.

And look, there's no doubt that

The terror alert desk has also

Featured some truly terrifying

Stories.

!sis has carried out a

Gruesome public execution in

Iraq.

They sliced 9 teens in half

With a chainsaw.

John: now, that caught our

Attention because it feels like

The sort of thing we'd have seen

Reported elsewhere.

So we tried to track down that

Story, and it originated with an

Anonymously sourced report

On something called

Iraqinews.

We weren't able to find any

Outlet that had independently

Verified it, and even when it

Was picked up by

British tabloids and breitbart,

They were careful to distance

Themselves with language like

"It has been claimed"

And "reportedly."

And I didn't know it was

Possible to dip beneath

The journalistic standards of

Breitbart.

That's like being too bad a chef

To work at a

Carnival food cart.

"Look, your fried ham

Is unimaginative and bland.

And we can't have that.

We're uncle sticky's discount

Ham wagon."

They reported it like it was a

Fact.

But what was perhaps even

Weirder about that chainsaw

Segment was the story that

Closed it out.

And mayors in 22 french towns

Are ignoring a high court's

Ruling banning burkinis is

Illegal.

More than 30 towns initially

Outlawed the swimwear worn

Mostly by muslim women.

From the terrorism alert desk,

I'm michelle marsh.

John: what the f*ck?

That's not about terrorism.

It's just about muslims.

By that definition, terrorism

Is "anything a muslim does."

Tonight: mahershala ali

On the cover of "gq,"

Kareem abdul-jabbar

Sneezed in an airport,

And happy birthday to

Fareed zakaria!

This has been your terrorism

Alert desk.

Now to their credit, in the face

Of all this, some sinclair

Stations are fighting back

Against their parent company.

For instance, their station

In seattle, "como,"

Have engaged in

Clever acts of rebellion,

Like airing must-runs at times

Of low viewership.

In fact, their only airing

Of the story about

The new hampshire !sis flag

Was at 4:54 a.m.

So it was basically only seen by

People in hospital waiting

Rooms, customers at 24-hour

Seven-elevens, and craig.

Just go to bed!

Get your shit together.

Go to bed!

But the truth is, if you work at

A sinclair station, there's only

So much you can do.

And should this tribune

Acquisition goes through, there

Are going to be even more good

Journalists having to see their

Hard work placed alongside

Terror-desk nonsense.

Just as there'll be even more

Unsuspecting audience members

Who'll be getting a heaping dose

Of sinclair's content,

Possibly without realizing it.

So you should find out who owns

Your local stations, and bear

That in mind as you watch.

And for any tribune station that

Could soon be taken over, we've

Produced a little video so you

Can alert your viewers.

Don't think of it as

A "must run."

Think of it more as

A "probably should run."

Take a look.

Hello, I am steve from

"The sopranos" and I am probably

Not the last guy with an accent

Wearing a cheap tie standing in

Front of a green screen that

You're going to see on this

Channel.

I will tell you why.

This station could soon be owned

By sinclair broadcast group.

You might see this f*cking guy

With this f*cking logo or this

f*cking desk.

That wasn't produced by the

Station because the people at

The station no local news should

Never be about cheap

Scaremongering or advancing the

Political agenda.

It should only be about weather,

Sports, investigations, human

Interest stories featuring cute

Animals like this pig.

Look at this little guy.

He is called pork chop.

Anyway, I am telling you if this

Becomes a sinclair station, good

Luck with that shit.

John: moving on.

Before we go tonight,

I'd like to talk about

America's presidents:

The only group of individuals

We know for sure, at some point,

Masturbated in the white house.

Oh, you think mckinley didn't?

Come on, grow up.

He's doing it in that photo!

Listen, with all the horrors

Of our current president,

It can sometimes help to get

Some historical perspective.

To look at all the people

Who preceded him.

Although, a few months ago,

One place where you might be

Able to do that was forced to

Say good-bye.

After nearly 60 years

Of operation, the hall of

Presidents and first ladies wax

Museum in gettysburg is shutting

Down.

Even though the museum will

Be no more, you have an

Opportunity to own a piece of

American history.

It's something that doesn't

Come up every day in an auction

For sure.

Should be a very interesting

Auction and we hope lots of

People come.

John: yeah, so do i!

I hope that too.

Because these wax presidents

Deserve a good home!

No one wants to see

Benjamin harrison having to

Model culottes at forever 21.

And here's the thing.

People did come.

Some apparently paid thousands

Of dollars to own

A wax president.

And it later turned out there

Were some notable buyers among

Them.

We got our very own

Life-size wax president.

That is president eisenhower.

John: is it?

Is it, though?

Because to me, it looks like

You may've just bought a wax

Sculpture of bill o'reilly

Covering his erection

With a magazine.

But it wasn't just maddow.

Stephen colbert got one too.

And now, ladies

And gentlemen, please rise

For your "late show" president,

Zachary taylor.

John: well, congratulations,

Stephen!

Although it's worth pointing out

That zachary taylor died

Of a stomach bug 16 months

Into office.

So he's really less

Of a president and more of a guy

Named zach who shit his brains

Out in the west wing men's room.

Colbert actually wanted

Martin van buren,

But unbeknownst

To him -- and this is true --

Jon stewart bought that.

Presumably to add to his

Ever-expanding mannequin

Sex dungeon.

That's the only rational

Explanation.

And I know what you're thinking:

Spending good money on a poorly

Made wax figure of a former

President sounds pretty stupid,

Right?

Yeah.

You're right.

That's why I'm proud to say:

We didn't go down there and buy

One of them.

We bought five of them.

Why five?

Because we're five times

Stupider than any other tv show,

That's f*cking why.

And the reason we've been

Sitting on this for so long is

Because we've been very busy,

Constructing a home for our

Horrifying new friends.

In fact, tonight I'd like

To present to you the "last week

Tonight" hall of dubiously

Lifelike wax commanders

In chief!

The g*ng's all here!

First, there's richard nixon!

He cost us $1,900 and he looks

Like a store-brand mitt romney!

Next, bill clinton, or,

To be more accurate,

John travolta in "primary

Colors" as bill clinton.

Then there's jimmy carter.

Looking like the "before" photo

For a jaundice medication!

And william henry harrison!

Who died of pneumonia 31 days

Into office and this is probably

What he looked like when he did!

And lastly:

There is

Warren g. f*cking harding!

And you know what?

This one is my favorite, because

We've talked a lot about harding

On this program.

He was our nation's



Administration was nearly

Brought down by the teapot dome

Scandal.

But he's perhaps most famous for

His sexual exploits.

After warren harding died

In 1923, nan britton wrote

A book claiming she'd been his

Mistress, they'd made love

In a white house closet,

And he'd fathered her daughter.

John: oh, warren.

Knocking up your friend's

Daughter in a white house

f*ck-cupboard?

You waxy little pervert.

But the fact is, harding has an

Incredible life story.

And it's a shame someone hasn't

Already made a major motion

Picture of it.

Who would do it?

It would have to be someone

With way too much time

On their hands,

Way too many resources,

And unfettered access

To a lifesize wax replica

Of former president

Warren g. Harding.

If only that person existed,

The movie they'd make might look

A little like this:

It's he came from humble

Roots to rumination.

As I live and breathe.

Let's show these fancy

Washington folk what an ohio boy

Can do.

Mr. Speaker, the president of

The united states.

Behind the public face, lived

A man of dark ambition.

Gentlemen, raise them up to

The 29th president of these

United states.

And two are very good fortune.

[Laughter]

Driven by hidden passions

Beyond his control and beyond

The realm of virtue.

Mr. Harding, I do believe you

Are flirting with me.

Consumed by a lost that would

Not we can.

Take me.

His name was synonymous with

Grace and dignity.

Mr. President.

Doomed to pay the price of

Power.

Mr. President, I must ask you

Again to sign an executive order

About this teapot dome matter.

You will sign this document.

Torn between duty and desire.

I demand to see my warren.

You are in no position to

Demand anything.

How dare you speak to me this

Way?

Look me in the eye and tell

Me she means nothing to you.

Don't you turn your back on me,

Warren.

To risk all he held dear.

If you don't contain the

Situation, this whole

Administration is going down.

We will all be finished!

Is that all I am to you, a

Plaything?

I am not your whore.

My greatest love and my

Greatest trial.

"The new york times" calls it

A movie.

The "los angeles times" raves

There are four oscar nominees in

It.

Seriously.

And world of wax monthly hails

It as a triumph.

Campbell scott, anna kendrick.

James cromwell, and laura

f*cking linney.

You are a great man, warren.

But heed my warning.

Even great men may be corrupted.

♪ ♪

So, yeah.

Yeah.

♪ ♪

"Warren."

Did you fall?

Coming soon.

John: just think, we don't

Even know what we are doing with

The other four yet.

That's our show.

We will be off for the next few

Weeks, we will be back july 30.

Good night.