Despite many protests and complaints, Donald Trump hosted this weekend’s Saturday Night Live. NBC had cut their ties with Trump months ago, but it seemed pretty clear that Lorne Michaels and the SNL writers were trying to get Trump on the show, because they were really soft-balling the jokes about Trump’s campaign for months. Trump has hosted SNL before, and… I mean, I guess it’s a good thing that he’s fine with making fun of himself. It’s not that Donald Trump particularly wants to be president, he just wants attention. He loves being the center of attention, and even when that attention is bad, he still enjoys it. Here’s Trump’s opening monologue, with guest appearances by Taran Killam and Darrell Hammond doing Trump impressions. Darrell is the best Trump. He’s even a better Trump than Trump.
There were many, many awkward and unfunny sketches, but the best skit was probably the guys doing a spoof of Drake’s “Hotline Bling.” Trump dancing like an accountant? It’s actually pretty great. Also: guest appearance by Martin Short!
Here’s a sketch about Trump “live-tweeting” the sketch. It sucked and the timing was off.
I love the “Bad Girls” sketches. This one is really great, but there’s no Trump.
Here’s another non-Trump sketch. This is the cold-open for the Democratic Forum. Kate McKinnon’s Hillary Clinton impression has gotten really good. And I guess Larry David is just going to do Bernie Sanders for the rest of the year? It’s kind of cool that Larry David has nothing better to do? Like, that alone is funny. That being said, his Bernie is AMAZING.
Anyway, my take on Trump’s hosting duties… a tempest in a teapot. The biggest controversy might be that his SNL appearance didn’t make that much of a dent either way. That being said, Trump really did give SNL a huge ratings bump. This was the most-watched episode in years.
Photos courtesy of SNL.
The Hotline Bling sketch was very funny.
that was good
Drake’s parody is funny
Ed Grimley. BOOM!
SNL hasn’t been funny in years.
just a few diamonds in the rough. depends on your style of humor.
SNL hasn’t been funny for twenty years, and I don’t think their influence is strong, but I’m sorry that anyone would chose to give this overgrown baby any kind of attention. He’s just such a hateful, spiteful, petty little tyrant.
I agree! I usually watch SNL from time to time when I have nothing else to do but this time I’m disappointed with Lorne & everyone else. I get it you need the ratings because they have lately been crap. But letting Trump host was the last nail in the coffin for me, I’m never watching it again don’t care who’s hosting.
Next week’s host: the Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan ….
I know! And he is 69 years old. It does not look good on him.
to add, NBC could be facing lawsuits from the other GOP candidates as there’s a rule about “giving candidates equal broadcast time”. if any of the other candidates make a stink, and they could, NBC could be forced to give each of the top 10 GOP candidates an equal amount of screen time. read an article about it on Sunday, but not sure where.
if you google “SNL trump equal time rule” it’ll come up.
It usually doesn’t come up though. McCain hosted in 2008–with Tina Fey as Palin ‘going rogue’. (He’d hosted before after losing to Bush in 2000) Al Sharpton too back in 2003 while he was running for the nom. I think most of them know they’d be so awkward and awful it would actually be a negative for them! (Google Steve Forbes on SNL–and the musical guests were Rage Against the Machine. LOL) But many times they have as many of the candidates as want to do it at least cameo. Hilary, Obama, Palin, Gerald Ford (April 1976 when he was President–the first President to appear on the show), Mike Huckabee in 2008 Jon Huntsman in 2011.
I couldn’t bear to watch.
It was just okay. SNL is mostly filler these days. He really wasn’t in much (thank God) and he really just played himself. Enough Drunk Uncle though – not that funny. Much like the show.
I didn’t watch, but I did go out in Athens Saturday night, and all they would play is “Hotline Bling.” It’s been stuck in my head for over 24 hours. Damn you, Drake. You used to call me on my cell phone.
There’s a parody of Drakes Hotline Bling and the lyrics are “You used to call me on your Tracfone.” That’s the version that has been stuck in my head.
Other than the opening and Sia, I found the whole show awkward.
Another awkward: the regular cast in a last-minute on Wednesday to hear they were going to have to suck it up because it was definitely on.
The push to get him on the show – and the hands-off/softball policy so far on Trump – has NOT come from the writers, either. This was all top-down.
I was bummed they didn’t focus more on Sia’s dancer.. She obviously wanted them to film the dancer because she was in front and … dancing. But they just filmed Sia’s haired up face the whole time…
I only watched about 20 minutes of the show (It’s usually so unfunny, I barely watch anymore)…Didn’t even care about Trump, but was so excited to see Larry David…..damn, I miss Curb Your Enthusiasm!!!!!!
It may have gotten the highest ratings in a while, but it was probably one of the worst SNL’s I’ve seen in a while. The only funny sketch was the Drake one. And no one even seemed to notice when Ivanka did a cameo.
The Onion’s AV Club agreed with you, CG. http://www.avclub.com/tv/saturday-night-live/
a review I read said there was a “deafening lack of applause” when she appeared.
How does SNL really have an audience? It just seems so passe.
High ratings meant lots of people saw how bad it was.
Genius
Or as I like to put it “So what happens next week?”
It’s pretty clear they did this as a stunt to try and get some ratings but considering all the folks they pissed off in the process I don’t like their odds for the rest of the season.
Ratings for next week will be horrifically bad I’m wagering.
Lots of people tuned in, but I haven’t seen or heard from a single person that thought the show was in the least bit funny. What’s worse, having no one watch, or having a ton of people watch the host be horrifically un-funny and un-charismatic? Keep in mind the reaction to Ivanka coming on… that dead silence wasn’t the sound of a host killing it.
I would say the Drake sketch was funny but it came from a meme that was made right after the videos debut. It had Trumps various weird faces on Drakes dancing bodies….it was better.
F**k these guys for giving this moron a platform and validating his xenophobic, sexist, hateful rants by masquerading them as “comedy”. It doesn’t matter if he has true presidential aspirations or if he is just doing it for attention-putting him on their show gives his his diatribes an air of legitimacy by making it okay because, like, it’s just funny, right??? We all just need to lighten up about him calling all hispanics rapists and referring to women as pigs. He danced to Hotline Bling! See? it makes it all okay!!
And all because Lorne Michaels doesn’t know any other way to try and stay relevant.
Amen
I’ve watched the show forever, but I refused to watch this one. I’m disgusted that they gave him a platform for anything.
(I did just watch the Bad Girls sketch because that turd wasn’t in it, and those women are awesome.)
Yep, I won’t even watch the clips — I’m not giving NBC anything for this poor decision
He didn’t get a platform..the white house skit is poking fun of his outrageous claims and his bloated ego was skewered from the start. So we learned he’s a terrible actor..and he’s in on the jokes..already knew all that.
Putting my prejudices aside, I’ll give them credit for ribbing him in a couple of sketches, but even those were soft ribbing at best. His imitation of an awkward accountant dancing in the Drake mock video was nuanced. He probably practiced that the most. The sketch of him meeting with his cabinet was somewhat humorous. The president of Mexico walked into the meeting with a check to for pay for the wall Trump made them build, his Secretary of State advised him that all was well in Syria and ISIS had been obliterated. The Secretary of the Interior reported the economy was GREAT and everyone was winning. Then Pres. Trump told the group they were all doing great and no one needed to worry about specifics because everything they do is great and wonderful. It was a little poke poke at the general bullshit he pulls on the campaign trail.
Haven’t been interested in SNL for many years now. It’s just not funny anymore. The show is iconic however and has given us boat loads of comedic talent. The list is huge. And considering just how long it’s been on is impressive. I was 12 and would watch about the first half when I would be babysitting. Always wound up falling asleep before I could see a full episode. Those were the days of the original cast. Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, John Belushi etc. All of them were wonderful.
I haven’t watched SNL in decades, and only one or two shows since the original cast left, but for a show that was supposed to be funny, it wasn’t in the least. I turned it off after a half hour as I couldn’t take it anymore. And I agree with a post on another blog that Trump should have encouraged the entire audience to yell Trump is a racist so the DR would have to pay $5K to everyone there.
All I can think is they invited him on the show because he’s mostly been vile to a minority base that it’s still acceptable to be cruel to. If Trump had said half of what he’d said about blacks for instance NBC would have burned itself to the ground rather than have him on as a speaker.
That says something about SNL and I will never watch the show again. We have a man encouraging the targeting of an already disenfranchised population and folks act like they’re just throwing a temper tantrum to be angry at that. Disgusting.
SNL still has the ability (not always reached) to influence things–usually when it comes to political impersonations. Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin was *killer* and Will Ferrell’s George W Bush, Dana Carvey’s Bush Sr, Phil Hartman AND Darrell Hammond’s Bill Clinton, Chevy Chase’s Ford–they set images that are still affecting how these Presidents are seen. They didn’t have much luck with Obama because there really isn’t a particular characteristic to latch onto and lampoon. He’s too even tempered? Kate MacKinnon does a great HIlary with all her awkwardness and teacher’s pet eagerness. So the potential is still there–see Larry David’s Bernie Sanders as well–but time will tell if it packs the punch of the other classics. (And I was a fan of Jason Sudekis’s loud uncle Joe Biden LOL)
And Dana Carvey’s Ross Perot! Hilarious!
That Drake parody was the funniest thing I’ve seen in a while. “I call this one the backwards fish…” hahahahaha!!
It looks like it physically pains him to smile.
Refused to watch. Based on the reviews it bombed and the ratings was more in the order of people rubber necking a wreck. It did not help that they had run part of a classic Buck Henry hosted SNL earlier that same night, landshark and all.
Larry David is a sell out. Lost a TON of respect for him. He took Gas Bags rasicim and turned it into a comedy sketch. Boo. Gas Bag needs to be brought to his knees. Also, I’ll need a complete background check on his current mail order bride. And his daughter was unrecognizable. I thought she was an SNL player, not herself. Buh Bye, Trumps.
It was soooo awkward. I think he vetoed a lot of sketches I heard. He had such a bad delivery and was actually only in like three or four sketches.
Larry David and Martin Short saved the episode. And Michael Che.