“Saturday Night Live” is probably my absolute favorite part of election season. Among all the political ads, mud-slinging and debates, “SNL” has always been ready to keep our candidates humble as its cast satirizes them with phenomenal impressions. After all, who can imagine the 2008 presidential election without Tina Fey as vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, or George W. Bush’s presidency without Will Ferrell?
This election season is no different. “SNL” has already made viral video waves with a sketch of the fabulous Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton seeking advice from a wise bartender played by no other than the actual Hillary Clinton. And yet, it seems like “SNL” is looking for even more ways to increase its involvement in the 2016 election.
On Oct. 13, “SNL” announced that Donald Trump, former host of “The Apprentice” and current Republican candidate for president, would host the show that aired Saturday along with musical guest Sia (an interesting pairing if I’ve ever seen one). The announcement was met with anger from certain individuals and groups, such as the Latino community — for good reason.
Back when he announced his campaign in June, Trump first offended the Latino community by declaring that those who are crossing the Mexican-American border are “bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” He later attempted to support these statements by assuring that “somebody’s doing the raping” on a CNN program, even after host Don Lemon tried to tell Trump that it was in fact other people, like human smugglers and government officials at fault for most rapes that occur when people cross the border.
Trump continued to offend when he retweeted a tweet on Twitter that said, “#JebBush has to like Mexican illegals because of his wife,” referring to fellow Republican candidate Jeb Bush and his wife, Columba.
I could go on for days about Trump’s seemingly continuous gaffes toward the Latino community, as well as many other remarks he’s made about women, African Americans and other minorities. I truly believe the reason Trump has lasted so long in the campaign and why he has consistently polled well is because of comments like these. They keep Trump on everyone’s mind, and they keep him from becoming irrelevant. They distract from the fact that perhaps his platform does not have as much depth. Trump is perhaps our first viral star presidential candidate.
“Saturday Night Live” is capitalizing on this relevance. On one hand, I can see why the producers of “SNL” would have wanted Trump to host. He has built his campaign presence around saying ridiculous things, and frankly, that makes good television. The potential of Trump dropping another absurd comment was a big reason why I even tuned in to the Republican debates, and he definitely delivered.
But, the cons of Trump hosting outweigh the increase in ratings.
Donald Trump, no matter how outlandish of a character, is a legitimate candidate to become president of the United States. He has a significant amount of people behind him and has drawn massive crowds to his campaign events. He has succeeded because he has promised to ignore political correctness and to speak for those who, apparently, feel like their voices are not heard. No, I am not speaking about oppressed minorities, but about middle-class white Americans, who feel like they finally have a candidate who is powerful enough to say offensive things and not be reprimanded for it.
In three days, an online petition calling for “SNL” to drop Trump as host garnered 30,000 signatures. On Wednesday, protesters gathered around the “SNL” studio to demand they find another host, and tweeted using the hashtag, “#RacismIsntFunny.” The Deport Racism group apparently offered a $5,000 reward for anyone who shouted out that Trump was a racist during the live broadcast.
According to Rashad Robinson, the executive director of ColorOfChange.org, which hosted the online petition, “The power of shows like ‘Saturday Night Live’ — it’s not just comedy, it’s people’s lives, it attacks their real lives.”
In the past, “SNL” has allowed multiple politicians to make surprise guest appearances on the show, but has never allowed anyone to fully take the wheel and host. By allowing Trump to host, “SNL” has rewarded him for his viral star power, while ignoring his policies. It makes the producers of “SNL” seem like they are willing to do anything to get viewers and shares on their online clips.
If Donald Trump wants to be treated like a serious candidate, we should comply and treat him like one, not by allowing him to host “SNL,” but by questioning his ideas, politics and how his presidency is going to change the United States.
