By Olivia Ritter ’17
Polls have shifted, perspectives have evolved and projections have bounced back and forth during the course of election 2016. But the role “Saturday Night Live” has had in these months of controversy and political mayhem is one that has become unrelenting.
Not one event in the recent election and this administration has been left without some satire or comment by the writers of SNL. From the very first trump cartoon greyscaledebate to Trump’s first weeks in office, actors Alec Baldwin, Kate McKinnon and Melissa McCarthy have been in the spotlight of a whirlwind of hilarious, biting parody of the new president and his administration.
“Political satire is part of American culture,” AP Government teacher Ms. Vaknin said. “The times warrant it, and he’s an unusual candidate, so that’s why it’s coming out now.”
While some viewers find entertainment in these skits, enjoying the highlights of an otherwise tiring time in the political arena, others are unamused by the show’s heavily biased and critical viewpoint of President Trump and the new Cabinet appointments.
“Saturday Night Live” has essentially become a news hotspot where less politically aware people come to find their current events regarding the new administration. Rather than sitting down and watching the live debate on CNN, voters waited until the next Saturday night, where they could find a satirical summary of what they missed.
Besides giving a comedic spin on the latest in politics, SNL has given a new image to both the president, his family and his Cabinet appointments. Alec Baldwin has taken on the face of Donald Trump, with an exaggerated tan, pursed lips and hands gestures, while Melissa McCarthy has made her debut as press secretary, Sean Spicer.
These impersonations have not only influenced public opinion, but they have rubbed our new president the wrong way. Following the final debate sketch in mid-October, then-presidential nominee Trump tweeted, “Watched Saturday Night Live hit job on me. Time to retire the boring and unfunny show. Alec Baldwin portrayal stinks. Media rigging election!”
Despite disapproval by Trump, SNL continued their weekly “hit jobs” on him, his administration and his new policies. In a CNN segment on Feb. 13 addressing the SNL skits, political analyst Dana Bash responded with, “It’s satire, but sometimes satire stings.”
Though, to SNL, the skits are simply a playful, more light-hearted outlook on domestic events, is it right for them to continually take digs at our new government?
“I believe that SNL, although incredibly one-sided and biased, has every right to incorporate their beliefs into their sketches,” senior Alexa DeVito said. “They have the First Amendment right to say what they wish, just as we have the right to choose whether or not to watch and agree with it.”
As controversial as these skits are, “Saturday Night Live” is not going to quit their war on Trump, just like Trump won’t quit his war on the media. The Feb. 10 show, hosted by Alec Baldwin himself, with its four politically-centered skits, had a 7.2 out of 10 overnight rating, its highest since 2011, according to the Los Angeles Times.
This is not the first modern election where SNL has taken hits at presidential candidates. In 2008, while senators John McCain and Barack Obama were going head to head, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler took roles of Sarah Palin, the vice presidential nominee, and Hillary Clinton. In a skit depicting the two women giving a speech, Fey (as Palin) said the infamous words, “I can see Russia from my house.”
As Trump’s first weeks and months in office pass by, Alec Baldwin will wear his red tie and tanned skin and purse his lips, while Melissa McCarthy stands behind a podium, chews wads of gum and angrily screams at the press. It’s pretty hard for the public to not be influenced by that.
