John Oliver's warning about Donald Trump's presidency quickly becoming normal proves to be prophetic

President-elect called for flag burning to be punishable by prison or being stripped of citizenship

John-Oliver (Getty)

Many predictions made ahead of the US election proved to be prophetic after, notably Michael Moore’s warning about how the working class in America would use their vote as a “f**k you” to the political establishment.

John Oliver’s warning arrived soon after the election. His was about complacency. Instead of resigning himself to accepting the surreal situation America was suddenly thrust into, he urged citizens to do everything they could to prevent themselves from forgetting why Mr Trump's leadership sparked so many protests.

"He’s not normal," said Oliver. "He’s abnormal. […] He sticks out like a sore thumb - and frankly, he even looks like a sore thumb. Giving him a chance in the sense of not speaking out immediately against policies he’s proposed is dangerous because some of them are alarming.

“It is going to be too easy for things to start feeling normal - especially if you are someone who is not directly impacted by his actions. Keep reminding yourself: this is not normal.

“Write it on a Post-it note and stick it on your refrigerator, hire a skywriter once a month, tattoo it on your ass, because a Klan-backed misogynist internet troll is going to be delivering the next State of the Union address, and that is not normal. It is f**ked up.”

The Last Week Tonight host's words of caution came five days after the billionaire business magnate with a campaign remembered for the instances of sexism, controversy and vitriol stormed to victory. And, judging by the reaction to Mr Trump’s casually tweeted suggestion the US constitution be amended to make flag burning punishable by jail or revoking citizenship, he was right. The prescience of his message was highlighted by Ricky Gervais, who reacted to Mr Trump's over-active Twitter feed with concerns that the authenticity of the President's posts are not even questioned anymore.

Mr Trump's tweet about burning the US flag followed a rant at CCN after their reporter challenged his “baseless” claims that “serious” electoral voter fraud had taken place - claims he made in spite of winning the contest.

This unsubstantiated claim was made only days after he declared himself the winner of the popular vote, where Hillary Clinton leads by more than two million, an assertion he made without proffering any evidence or revealing the process that had led him to this conclusion.