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Right now, if you Google “Donald Trump SNL,” chances are you’ll come upon a long list of tirades asking Lorne Michaels to stop the outspoken Republican presidential candidate from hosting this weekend’s Saturday Night Live. These range from articles about how Latino congressmen want him off because of his hurtful comments towards their culture to critics bemoaning Trump’s poor showing during his last hosting gig. Many are even making the very salient point that if Trump gets 90 minutes of network airtime, every single one of his opponents — be it Democrat or Republican — deserves the same amount of airtime. But the real reason why Trump probably shouldn’t host Saturday Night Live this weekend is that it could ruin his campaign.
Saturday Night Live is not only poised to get a “yuuuge” ratings bump from the Donald’s appearance, but also, its easiest target for laughs so far this season. Saturday Night Live has always poked fun at the political elite, but in the last decade they’ve established themselves as a stage on which to roast candidates so much that their reputation is forever tarnished. Take, for instance, their elegant takedown of Sarah Palin in 2008. Tina Fey returned to the show for a series of special sketches where she played a version of the Vice Presidential candidate that made Palin look downright idiotic. You would think that the worst part of that comedic assault was the fact they often used Palin’s own quotes as punchlines, but it was really that Palin herself came on the Weekend Update stage and let a pregnant rapping Amy Poehler dismantle her image right to her face, one rhyme at a time.
Since Saturday Night Live returned for its 41st season, it’s swiftly amped up its scathing attacks on this year’s veritable Rogue’s Gallery of Presidential hopefuls. The first episode opened with Taran Killan’s horrifically precise impression of Trump and gave us a sketch implying that most of the Republican presidential hopefuls were delusional. Hillary Clinton showed up for a wry sketch where she got taken to task — to her face — by Kate McKinnon for her early reluctance to champion gay rights. (The scene was especially delicious to watch if you knew that McKinnon, Saturday Night Live‘s ebullient Hillary Clinton impressionist, is a lesbian IRL.) In following weeks, the show only pushed the envelope further. Amy Schumer took the nation to task for its hesitation to embrace gun control, and the last episode opened with an electric spoof of the first Democratic presidential primary. Larry David’s surprise Bernie Sanders impression was not only on point, but gave the Socialist senator even more likability among the youth.
As for Trump, the mogul might be walking into Studio 6H believing he’s doing the show a big favor — but he doesn’t know how big. The liberal-leaning Saturday Night Live writing staff has never been more prepped to take down Trump. He’s not just about to give the legendary sketch show one of its most-watched episodes ever, but he’s also offering himself up to be the butt of every joke.
It’s true that the ever-showboating Trump has always been game to poke fun at himself. It’s always seemed that he has the confidence of a man who knows that while you might be laughing at him, he’s laughing all the way to the bank. When Trump hosted Saturday Night Live in 2004, he was riding high as the host and producer of NBC’s biggest cash cow, The Apprentice. But running for President is different than keeping ratings up on a television show. As the face of The Apprentice it behooved Trump to speak his mind, crack the off-color joke, and boldly go where the politically correct could not dare go. Today, that same attitude makes him one of the most polarizing candidates in a veritable circus of a campaign season.
There was no reason for the Saturday Night Live cast and crew to mock anything but Trump’s overly bronzed image back in 2004. Trump was an important part of the NBC family, but today, he’s not. When Trump made a decision in the boardroom of The Apprentice, he was entertaining millions of Americans while dashing the dreams of one person. If he becomes President, those millions of guffawing Americans’ livelihoods will be in his hands. The stakes are higher and so, like every candidate, he deserves to be put through the gauntlet to prove his worth. Saturday Night Live probably won’t shy away from this task.
Maybe the teflon Trump will emerge unscathed. There’s always the chance that Lorne and his writers will go easy on Trump. The Donald’s Saturday Night Live appearance could very well wind up boosting his approval ratings. But between politicians using late night comedy as their soapboxes and our late night comics becoming the most astute news pundits in our media landscape, we have to wonder if American politics is in fact turning into a big fat joke. It’s true America was founded on the principal that we don’t want a king — but do we want to be ruled by a bunch of jesters?
In any event, Saturday Night Live wins in this no matter what. Trump is the one with something huge to lose.
Donald Trump is still scheduled to host Saturday Night Live on November 7, with musical guest Sia. You can stream it live via NBC Live or catch it on Hulu the next day.
[Watch Saturday Night Live on Hulu]
