John Oliver announced on the latest episode of “Last Week Tonight” that he has launched a new website where people can print stickers and place them on Donald Trump’s face to prevent him from appearing at America the Beautiful Pass in National Parks (via SF Gate). President Trump redesigned the pass to feature himself alongside George Washington. Oliver said President Trump continues a worrying trend of “slapping his name and face on things,” such as his takeover of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
“While I understand their purpose in showcasing America’s first and last presidents together, it is strange for President Trump to make himself and George Washington the faces of national parks for a number of reasons,” Oliver said. “First of all, Trump seems to hate them. He’s made massive cuts to the Park Service, and the Park Service is currently losing 24% of its full-time employees.”
Oliver pointed out that the pass once featured picturesque landscapes and animals similar to those found in American national parks. He even brought up a recent lawsuit arguing that President Trump can’t put his face on a mountain pass because “federal law requires that America’s beautiful mountain passes display winning photos from the National Park Foundation’s annual public photo contest.”
Following Trump’s takeover of the passes, visitors have already begun placing stickers on Trump’s face, but the U.S. Department of the Interior objected because stickers and other coverings would be considered tampering with the passes and could render them unusable under the “if tampered with” rule. But that doesn’t stop Oliver from joining the protests and offering visitors a new set of stickers to hide Trump’s face.
Oliver’s website features a banner with a fake National Park Service badge that reads “Last Week Tonight: F-king Around,” and offers several sticker options, from cute animals to the faces of past presidents such as Bill Clinton, Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter.
“There’s something moving about seeing people find a way to enjoy the experience of a national park instead of looking at the people who are actively trying to destroy it,” Oliver said of the movement he’s participating in to remove Trump’s face from the mountain pass.
President Trump’s funding cuts to national parks have drawn widespread backlash. Last summer, Nick Offerman appeared on “The Daily Show,” channeling the spirit of “Parks and Recreation” character Ron Swanson and chiding Trump for cutting $267 million in funding. Offerman also asked the president to increase park admission fees to free up $90 million for the Department of the Interior’s budget.
“Let me be clear, Mr. President,” Mr. Offerman said. “They cut $267 million to get back $90 million. I’m not a mathematician, but I think that’s bullshit. But then again, I didn’t go to the Wharton College of Business.”
Offerman then explained how national parks are an easy getaway for families, citing news reports that said national parks contributed $55 billion to the U.S. economy in 2023 and added 415,000 jobs.
“This is the true miracle of our national parks,” Offerman said. “Everyone can take an affordable vacation within their own country’s borders, whether it’s traveling with their families or deserting their constituents in a time of crisis, because America without national parks is like McDonald’s without hamburgers. I think you can still go there, but at that point, it’s kind of like a toilet.”
