Live from New York, it’s Saturday night! This is a catchphrase that has enthralled viewers across the country who tune into the most popular weekly live comedy show for decades and decades. Saturday Night Live has been cracking jokes since 1975 and for all of its 42 seasons this has comedically criticized and commented on the current political scene.
While SNL admittedly leans somewhat to the left, politicians from all sides of the aisle are at the brunt of jabs on the show. Caricatures on SNL, like anywhere, capitalize on the aspects of a person or personality that are already amusing. The first season of SNL portrayed Jimmy Carter as a foolish Southerner incapable of understanding the economic turmoil that limited him to only one term in the Oval Office. More recently, George W. Bush was made fun of as an out-of-touch leader unable to legitimately connect with the American people in the midst of the recession and conflict in the Middle East. Jokes about Barack Obama included stereotypes related to his unique role as the first African-American president, and about his sometimes excessively calm demeanor even in the face of stubborn partisan opposition to health care and his other achievements.
All of these men accepted the fact that with the fame and power that comes with holding the office of President of the United States comes a cost of being publicly ridiculed from time to time.
Our current Commander in Chief, however, does not seem capable of understanding this. Donald Trump routinely attacks SNL in his unhinged Twitter account as “unwatchable, totally biased and not funny”, and that it is “time to retire” the show, despite the fact that SNL is enjoying its highest ratings in years.
As the country has seen, Trump is a man with an epically outlandish persona, so it should be no surprise to a rational person that SNL is taking advantage of the plethora of comedic moments Trump offers. In the one month that he has been president, the daily executive orders,
The president disagrees, claiming that Baldwin’s acting “stinks”, which follows his pattern of denying widely-accepted beliefs and claims by the media. Perhaps Trump’s viewpoints on SNL are just another one of his administration’s alternative facts, to borrow the term from Kellyanne Conway.
Being able to handle criticism and comedy maturely reveals a lot about a person’s confidence and self-security. Trump’s response to something that all presidents, prominent political leaders, and pop culture icons go through is particularly alarming because it seems more representative of an emotionally insecure, angsty teenager than the so-called leader of the free world. It also echoes the sentiments published recently in the New York Times by 35 leading mental health professionals warning of Trump’s “grave emotional instability”. This group broke with traditional ethical traditions after witnessing the debacle of falsehood that was Trump’s press conference on Thursday. The simple fact that people are questioning the mental health of the president is enough to seriously reconsider his competency for the job.
The icing on the cake in this feud between SNL and Trump is two of the stars of the Saturday evening show. Kate McKinnon, a proudly out queer woman, and Leslie Jones, a black woman, are arguably the two most well-known cast members, particularly after their all-female remake of Ghostbusters did well this past year.
Adding to that is the widely popular and ingenious choices by SNL writers to bring in Melissa McCarthy to play Press Secretary Sean Spicer, or have McKinnon portray Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The blatant sexism, racism, and homophobia present in practically every member and aspect of Trump’s cabinet are perfectly caricatured by having these actresses play such conservative men.
On a broader stage, Trump’s hatred of seeing himself at the receiving end of jokes relates to his tendency to trivialize those with less power than him, and to his toxic relationship with the media. He clearly cannot comprehend that with the authority of running the nation comes critique, often through the platform of humor. Trump sees this as vicious strikes at his ego, rather than stepping back and realizing that it is natural for people to laugh at the expense of others.
In life, it is impossible to please everyone, and in your case, Mr. President, there are certainly many who are displeased with you and your actions. I say that in order to take a needed break from Donald Trump’s America that for too many people
Erik is a freshman majoring in international relations and Spanish. How do you feel about Trump’s responses to criticism? Please send all comments,
