Oliver calls Trump, raisins disgusting; Dancing Raisins think he's more like prunes

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John Oliver calls Donald Trump disgusting, like raisins

California Dancing Raisins ask for “cease and desist” order

In the September 25th episode of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight,” host John Oliver compared Donald Trump to “disgusting raisin cookies.”

In a segment meant to lay-to-rest the false equivalency that the many Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump scandals are equally egregious, Oliver said, “Ethical failings in a politician are like raisins in a cookie ... They shouldn't be there. They disgust people. But most politicians have at least a few raisins. 

Holding up an ordinary raisin cookie, Oliver continued, "Hillary … arguably has more raisins than average. There's probably 10 of these little f**kers in there … But [Trump] is a f**king raisin monsoon," Oliver said, triggering an avalanche of raisins on his desk. "He is ethically compromised to an almost unprecedented degree. So if you don't like raisins, I get it – they're disgusting. But unfortunately, this November, you're gonna have to swallow 10 or we're all going to be eating this shit for years."

Response to the raisin slur was immediate.

A spokesman for the California Dancing Raisins, Haig Keshishian, issued the following statement:

“While despite the best efforts of our marketing and advertising teams through the years, we understand that there are some people who don’t like raisins. We accept that. But for John Oliver to associate raisins with Donald Trump is completely unacceptable. In that regard, we are asking the Fresno County Superior Court to issue a cease and desist order that would ban any further showings of this episode of “Last Week Tonight” unless Mr. Oliver re-shoots the episode and substitutes prunes for raisins as we believe that prunes are much more in keeping with Donald Trump’s persona.

(Note 1: In the event that the California Dancing Raisin cease and desist order is upheld, following is a link to the “Last Week Tonight” segment that includes Trump and Clinton and raisins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1Lfd1aB9YI)

(Note 2: Full disclosure – I led the team that created the “Dancing Raisin” campaign in the late 1980’s)