Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
[UPDATE] NJ Teacher Forced To Resign After Showing Class John Oliver "Drumpf" Clip
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Apr 22, 2016
Modified Apr 22, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Apr 22, 2016
Modified Apr 22, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
John Oliver's "Make America Drumpf Again" segment on Last Week Tonight is a must-see for anyone who fears a potential anointment of The Orange One—Oliver delightfully skewers Donald Trump and his terrible steaks with aplomb. But it appears at least one parent at a high school in New Jersey had her brains eaten by The Walking Merkin—she complained after a teacher showed the Drumpf clip to his class, and now he's reportedly been forced to resign. Drumpf's America is already here!
Joe Ventre, a history teacher at Middletown South High School, reportedly showed the clip in class, an action one parent found offensive enough to report to school officials. Administrators reportedly confronted Ventre about violating his contract by revealing his political bias good taste, and forced him to agree to resign at the end of the school year, a move that's infuriated a number of less oversensitive parents. "It’s a travesty,” district parent Kathi Van Zandt, who is leading an initiative to keep Ventre on staff, told the Post. “It’s just ridiculous.”
Students and parents are now circulating a petition in support of Ventre, with one student noting the teacher "knows how to understand kids' feelings and is an honor to have as a teacher. He is one of my role models and losing him would negatively effect mine and many other students' lives." The petition has 2,316 supporters as of this morning. Parents are also appealing to the Board of Education—in a letter, Van Zandt wrote: “To lose him, to allow ONE PARENT to make that decision because she was offended at a TV SHOW, is absolutely ludicrous and you know it."
Coincidentally, John Oliver's former boss Jon Stewart lives in Middletown with his wife and children—Van Zandt has reportedly reached out to him about Ventre's predicament.
Now let's rewatch the clip, which is fantastic:
Update: Now it seems that Ventre may not be resigning over this after all.
Tagged
donald trump
election 2016
john oliver
new jersey
Rebecca Fishbein
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Tompkins Square Park is getting a makeover. Some say it's too much.
Some regulars at the East Village park want to preserve its not-so-fancy offerings.
By
Willow Higgins
Published Oct 17, 2026 at 7:00 a.m. ET
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
News
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .