John Oliver announced on a recent episode of “Last Week Today” that he has launched a new website where people can print stickers to put Donald Trump’s face and block him from appearing in America the Beautiful national parks (via SF Gate). Trump changed passport designs to feature himself alongside George Washington. Oliver noted that following Trump’s disturbing trend of “slapping his name and face on things,” such as Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.
“I get what they want by showing the first and last presidents of America together, but Trump making our faces and George Washington the faces of our parks is weird for a couple of reasons,” Oliver said. “First of all, Trump seems to hate them. He has turned away from the recreation service, which has already lost 24% of its full-time employees.”
Oliver observed the passes used to produce beautiful pictures of the places and animals one can find in America’s national parks. He even brought up a recent lawsuit that says Trump can’t put his face on the passes because “federal law requires the Great America the Beautiful Pass to feature the winning photo in the National Parks Foundation’s annual contest.”
Trump’s acceptance of the passports has prompted travelers to start putting stickers in Trump’s face, which the US Department of the Interior has opposed as stickers and other coverings could be considered alterations to the passports and render them unusable under the “Void if Altered” rules. However, that doesn’t stop Oliver from joining the protest and giving guests a new set to block Trump’s face.
Oliver’s website, which includes a banner with a fake National Park Service badge that reads “A Week Today: The Department F-king Around,” offers several options for stickers, from cute animals to the faces of past presidents like Bill Clinton, Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter.
“There’s something inspiring about seeing people find a way to enjoy their experience in national parks without having to look at someone trying to destroy them,” Oliver said of the movement he joined to remove Trump’s face from the passes.
Trump’s funding cuts to national parks have caused widespread disruption. In a viral appearance on “The Daily Show” last summer, Nick Offerman channeled the spirit of his “Parks and Recreation” character Ron Swanson to scold Trump for cutting $267 million in funding. Offerman also called on the president to increase admissions to parks in order to bring $90 million to the budget of the Department of the Interior.
“Let me get this straight, Mr. President,” Offerman said. “You cut $267 million to get back $90 million. Now, I’m no mathematician, but I believe that’s called breaking the bank. But then again, I didn’t go to Wharton Business College.”
Offerman cited a news report explaining how national parks have brought $55 billion to the U.S. economy by 2023, and employed 415,000 people and explained how parks are an easy vacation for families.
“That’s the real miracle of our national parks,” Offerman said. “It’s an affordable vacation that anyone can take within our borders, whether you’re traveling with your family or you’ve abandoned your constituents in a time of crisis. Because let’s face it, America without its parks is like McDonald’s without hamburgers.
#John #Oliver #sells #stickers #cover #Donald #Trumps #face #National #Park #Passes #Dont #Guy #Whos #Destroy