00:00Unfortunately, the U.K. is about to be completely f***ed in a way not unlike the
00:05resigned mating foxes of Kent." Boris Johnson was recently elected as the U.K.'s
00:10new prime minister, but not everyone is too happy about it, including John Oliver,
00:14who ripped the politician apart during a taping of Last Week Tonight. Johnson,
00:18who's the former mayor of London and British foreign secretary, beat out current
00:22foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt in an election last week to take over for Theresa
00:25May as prime minister of the United Kingdom. During his HBO talk show, Oliver
00:29made the argument that Johnson's bumbling Brit persona is actually a fraud. First,
00:34the late night host played a clip of Johnson giving an interview saying that he
00:37enjoys making buses out of crates in his free time because it's relaxing. The new
00:41prime minister went so far as to say he even paints the passengers looking out the
00:45windows, which Oliver found a bit odd.
00:47If they're terrible, that's weird. But if they're impressive, that's somehow weirder.
00:53But the host also pointed out headlines that noted that Johnson's story might have
00:56actually been a ploy to manipulate Google search results when people type in
01:01Boris Johnson bus. Now, if you're wondering why on earth Boris Johnson would care about
01:05people possibly searching that phrase, here's a quick refresher. Back in 2016, Johnson
01:09issued a bus that traveled around Britain during the lead up to the Brexit referendum
01:13with the words,
01:14We send the EU £350 million a week. Let's fund our NHS instead.
01:18Johnson claimed that the UK government paid £350 million a week to the European Union
01:23and believed that the UK would be wealthier after leaving the EU.
01:26According to multiple reports, that claim was not true. So some headlines believe that
01:30Johnson's strange bus anecdote was an attempt to bury his political error and change
01:35Google search results if someone were to look for Boris Johnson bus. So, in other words,
01:39Boris is so much more than the potential Michelangelo of vehicular crafts.
01:45Oliver also addressed Johnson's comparison to Trump,
01:47but noted that the new prime minister is much more complex than that. The host called out an
01:52interview Johnson gave in which he admits that sometimes he deliberately acts like he
01:55doesn't know what's going on, so no one knows the difference, and people will never know if he's
01:59joking or not if he doesn't actually know what's going on. Confusing?
02:03Right there is the key to Boris Johnson, presenting his own lack of preparation so charmingly
02:09that you actually doubt he's unprepared, but he is.
02:12Oliver went on to state, his bumbling persona is a carefully calculated act. Once you realize
02:18what he's doing, it makes you question everything you found charming about him.
02:21The host concluded by saying Johnson's lack of efficiency and attention to detail will have the
02:26potential to have a negative effect on negotiating a successful Brexit deal by October 31st, a process that
02:31affects millions of people. All of the skills that has helped Johnson to become prime minister
02:36will not paper over all of the deficits that are going to make him terrible at that job.
02:41For more on this story, hit to THR.com and until next time, for The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Neha Joy.
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