John Oliver highlighted the current COVID-19 crisis within the United States Postal Service during his Sunday night segment of Last Week Tonight, pointing out that over 1,000 postal workers have tested positive for COVID-19 and that 40 have died from it.
As Samantha Bee noted in a similar segment on Full Frontal recently, the Trump administration has not been kind to the USPS, threatening to slash the social service’s funding right when the Postal Service needs it most — not to mention during a census year and an election year when many voters will have to cast their ballot by mail in order to stay safe.
“People do love to complain about the post office, but the truth is it does very important work, and many people really rely on it,” Oliver said. “Not just to receive packages, but in rural areas in particular, a post office can be a community hub that brings people together.”
To help fund the Postal Service, Oliver and Last Week Tonight partnered with Stamps.com to create custom stamps featuring various recurring characters from the show like Chiijohn and Mr. Nutterbutter, as well as one that just says, “And now…a Stamp.”
“You can buy sheets of these for the next month, and I would really encourage you to do that,” Oliver said. “They are the perfect way to mail a card that supports the USPS in its time of need while also saying, ‘I like Last Week Tonight, and I’m sorry I forgot Mother’s Day,’ which you did, you piece of shit.”
