John Oliver opened Sunday’s Last Week Tonight with a celebratory assessment of Democratic victories in the previous week’s midterm elections, before turning to Elon Musk’s political spending and an unresolved Senate contest in Mississippi. The opening segment combined his recap of the results with jokes about defeated candidates’ billionaire backer and one candidate’s pointed response to her opponent.
A blue wave swept through the program’s opening sequence, setting up Oliver’s enthusiastic account of Tuesday’s voting. He described the week as busy and welcomed the election outcome, telling viewers that the number of Democratic successes had at times been difficult to absorb. His opening remarks made clear that he regarded the results as good news.
Audience members applauded loudly as Oliver went through several Democratic wins. Among the results he singled out was Texas, a historically Republican state. Oliver expressed disbelief at its turn toward the Democrats, making the Lone Star State a particular focus of his reaction to the party’s performance.
The host then shifted from the winning party to Musk, mocking the money the billionaire had spent supporting candidates who ultimately lost. Oliver put that spending at half a billion dollars and compared its disappearance to a parked Cybertruck catching fire. He also said the week had brought news that Musk was ending Cybertruck production, joking that the development felt like another election result even though it was unrelated to the vote.
Oliver next highlighted the Mississippi Senate race between Scott Colom and Cindy Hyde-Smith, which remained too close to call. He said Hyde-Smith appeared to have declared victory prematurely on Wednesday. That apparent declaration provided the setup for a clip of Colom answering reporters’ questions about the contest.
In the footage, a reporter asked Colom about Hyde-Smith’s apparent mistake. Colom waited several seconds before responding, “Bless her heart.” Oliver presented the brief answer as a distinctly Southern way of delivering an insult, drawing attention both to the pause and to the phrase that followed it.
For viewers unfamiliar with that usage, Oliver explained that the expression could carry a much harsher meaning than its words might suggest. He exaggerated its potency by comparing it to an attack delivered from a church pew, closing the exchange with a joke about how much contempt could fit inside an outwardly gentle response.
