He once again made numerous jokes that are regarded as highly offensive, including ones about Rosie O'Donnell who he has made fun of in the past. Many of the skits were focused around his policies, and poked fun at the absurdity of many of them. For instance, he handed the President of Mexico a giant check for the wall he believes he will build to "keep the bad ones out."
Despite the goings on inside, there were protesters lining the streets outside. Around 200 protestors marched from Trump Towers to the out side of NBC studios. They were trying to shame SNL for picking him as a host due to his previous offensive remarks. They believed that they should not have picked him because it shows support for what he has previously said.
Therefore they shouted things like "when i say Lorne you say Micheals!" (he is the head of SNL) and "Hey hey ho ho racism has got to go!"
The protesters said that their protest was bigger than just in regard to Trump. They want to send the message and by creating a mass assembly of people they can alert people to the issues at hand: Trumps racist and sexist comments.
This movement was organized by a number of organizations such as Black Lives Matter, ANSWER, women's groups, labor organizations, and students.
Despite their best efforts, the program still ran as scheduled, however, they did bring attention to their cause which is extremely valuable.
Do you all think that SNL should have hosted Tump? Or was it in fact disrespectful due to his previous comments? Also what impact do you think this protest will have on Trumps popularity? What do you think about Trump's comments during the show? Over all how will this publicity affect his campaign?
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/donald-trump-hosts-saturday-night-live-amid-protests-n459341
http://dailycaller.com/2015/11/08/anti-trump-protest-shuts-down-two-and-half-hours-before-snl-showtime/
13 comments:
Sorry in advance for my highly opinionated comments!
To preface, I'm a fan of Saturday Night Live, and I've been one for several years now. For the most part, I appreciate their emphasis on lighthearted comedy and social commentary. However, I wasn't thrilled when they chose to host Trump last Saturday. It's clear to most everyone that Trump has a habit of making a fool of himself, which is always good fun, but when it goes so far that he makes racist and sexist comments and they're considered a laughing matter, something needs to change. Americans are forgetting that this man could end up leading our nation. The presidential campaign is becoming more of an entertainment stunt than it is a campaign, which worries me. Of course I understand why SNL had Trump on their show; he's funny, he's a joke. But racism, sexism, and elitism aren't jokes, right? Right. We need to remember one key thing here: It's all fun and games until we have an overtly ignorant man in the Oval Office.
In my opinion, it's about time that we stopped glorifying Trump in the media. Naturally, the sketches involving him on SNL weren't very funny, but it's still important to stop fueling his fire by giving him media attention. Unfortunately, with Trump, the phrase "All publicity is good publicity" seems to summarize his campaign so far quite nicely. The more attention he receives, the bigger his lead in the polls becomes. Negative as it often is, we need to stop covering Trump in the media.
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/08/donald-trump-on-snl-candidates-hosting-stunt-was-no-laughing-matter
I agree with raswaglia that SNL made a miscalculation with making Trump the host on that episode.Not only a bad choice in terms of Trump's lack of comedic timing, but also it's ratings. All over the social media, particularly Tumblr,people have been urged to not only refrain from watching that SNL show on television, but also boycott watching it on the internet. As people take action against Trump, and stop tolerating him for the sake of a laugh, Hopefully his polling will go down.
I find myself in the same position as the4th3rd and raswaglia. I have been watching SNL for years and I appreciate how they take the issues of today and mix them with comedy; it is a fresh take on many news stories. They have also had many presidents and presidential candidates take the stage before, all joining in to poke fun at themselves. However these have only been cameos. Only three other presidential candidates have ever hosted the show; Ralph Nadar, Al Sharpton, and Steve Forbes. Since he was not only a cameo, but a host I think that his presence had a much larger effect on the public persona of SNL. Democratic Representative of Illinois Luis Gutierrez even called for Trump to be banned from television until he takes back his racist comments about Mexican people and the National League for Hispanic People wrote to NBC, stating that “Allowing Trump to host SNL will legitimize and validate his anti-Latino comments.” I agree with these statements and those of raswaglia; racism, sexism, and elitism are not jokes and having Trump host definitely decreased their seriousness.
However SNL continued on and the show got the biggest rating since 2012. I think both NBC and Trump will be happy with these ratings, however the reviews weren’t as nice. Many said the show was boring and unfunny. But overall I believe their is an fear that politics and pop culture are becoming too close. After seeing Donald Trump on SNL I cannot imagine him leading the country. I think we need to take a step back from the campaigns as this is not the first time the campaign has been more about entertainment than policy and reevaluate what we are looking for in a president, looks or policies?
http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2015/11/06/presidential-candidate-donald-trump-snl-saturday-night-live-kaye-pkg-ac.cnn
http://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2015/11/08/weak-reviews-but-strong-ratings-for-trump-on-snl.cnn
I agree with Hannah, having Trump on the show was a mistake, as much as I normally enjoy it. In the past, the show has had people on (the person that comes to mind is Justin Bieber after he was photographed smoking weed) right after they make a mistake or their is some scandal surrounding them. It often ends up in the star apologizing for their actions or defending themselves. Sometimes it's awkward, but often helps the public to humanize the celebrity. However, Trump was NOT apologizing. In fact, he was basically rubbing his seemingly untouchable nature in everyone's faces. Specifically, his comments about Aidy Bryant (relating to Rosie O'Donnel) and the sketch where he tweeted insults at the actors were rather distasteful. He made no effort to humanize himself. Even the actors themselves seemed horribly awkward.
Trump choosing to host the show was also a strange publicity stunt. Yes, the sketch with Hilary was kind of funny, but actually hosting the show is very different. All he is is a celebrity who seems to be winging it. Unfortunately, his version of winging it involves lots of racism, sexism, and classism. There was not a single instance during the entire show when he seemed like a president. Not even when he was in a sketch where he acted as president. Honestly, he looked more like a car salesman in a low budget advertisement than the future leader of the free world.
It is no longer acceptable to dismiss blatant racism and sexism as just a crazy comment that some celebrity happened to tweet about. He is very much in the public eye. He has a following. His shock value is wearing off fast and people need to realize how awful some of the things he says are. If you would be embarrassed about your grandpa shouting something in a room of minorities and women, you should absolutely not allow a presidential candidate to say the same.
SNL has a responsibility to truly consider their hosts. In this case, they failed to make the right decision. Though I am a fan, this particular episode has left me questioning their motivations--money or comedy?
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/protesters-rally-donald-trump-snl-appearance
I completely agree with what everyone has said so far, especially Sarah. I personally do not think that Trump should have hosted SNL this past week. Like Sarah was saying the show often times will invite controversial celebrities or ones who have a lot of publicity surrounding them. This not only offers the celebrity a chance to explain/apologize, but it also helps to draw in larger ratings, since no can resist hearing more from a celebrity enveloped in scandal. Therefore, while SNL clearly made a faux pas in having Trump host, it is understandable coming from a financial/rating stand point.
Having seen the show I too found many of the sketches he was in not funny and distasteful, since while they were in the style of the show (making fun of current issues), the issues they were highlighting were Trumps own disrespectful comments. Trump in no way tried to correct his image, but instead played right into it, revealing that he really does see no wrong with his past actions. As a result I feel more people will start to move away from Trump as his novelty as an entertainer making brash comments, wears off. The protests were justified and help to demonstrate this shifting tide, that his disrespectful comments/actions will no longer be tolerated. Furthermore it is frustrating to me that a candidate who has so far been unable to prove his ability at possibly becoming our future president has been given so much air time and free media coverage due to his outrageous behavior, only helping to give his campaign more attention (and support). Therefore by SNL allowing this mass attention to be given to him does not help to fix the situation. Although it is important to note that Ben Carson has over taken Trump by several points in the polls, possibly demonstrating that Trump's entertainment value is already starting to wear thin.
To begin it is most important to understand that Saturday Night Live's ultimate purpose is to provide late night comedy and entertainment to the public. It is certainly socially inapropriate for SNL to have produced a show that consisted of such racial and sexist slurs and they must accept blame for producing such offensive statements. I do agree that Trump's attitude is immature and certainly not admirable, he has the right to speak on whatever issues he pleases and in the manner of his choice. Donald Trump's racist, sexist, and overall discriminatory personality has fueled controversy but in the grand scheme of things he is more than entilted to his words. I find it a wasted effort if the public spends time in giving Trump the attention he so desperately has sought after. It is evident that his performance on SNL has made him become an even less attractive presidential candidate. But the blame does not lay in his hands, but rather the hands of those who produce and air SNL.
I firmly believe the blame of such an inappropriate and offensive episode should be placed on the producers of Saturday Night Live. If the events on the show are filmed and are reported to have racial and sexist remarks, it should not be aired to the public. End of story. This is not the only circumstance that such an offensive episode has taken place. Not too long ago, Miley Cyrus was featured on Saturday Night Live appearing in minimal and provocative clothing. Again, I believe Cyrus is entilited to dress the way she pleases however it is SNL's network responsibility to censor and take in consideration if such an image is appropiate for public viewing.
It is not only discouraging but dissapointing to see SNL, a network with comical history and certainly great potential to choose to film controversial appearances rather than valuable performances. If a child were to accidentally switch channels on a T.V. to hear the sexist remarks of Donald Trump and see Cyrus half clothed it would raise a question in regards to the respecting public decency.
Overall Trump's campaign will most likely not be effected by his appeareance on SNL. Most of his votes come from people who are aware of his deameanor as well as his personlity which is something he has certainly not chosen to hide. Donald Trump is who he is, and that is unchangeable, and the reality of it all.
I actually have to disagree with previous comments on this post. I think that even though Trump was offensive to women and has been racist in the past, he is entitled to freedom of speech. No one had to watch the Saturday Night Live episode or listen to Trump if they felt that his comments are offensive. Anyone can respond however they want to this show, but they could never have prevented him from being on the show. With that said, this episode got 9.4 million views which means that 9.4 million people wanted to watch Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live. This was the highest amount of views since December of 2013. Also, while I don’t agree with what Trump says, he believes that his comments have legitimacy, and many people in the polls do as well.
Also, Saturday Night Live is a comedy show. Having him on the show does not by any means “legitimize and validate his anti-Latino comments” as Claire previously said. This SNL show was poking fun at Donald Trump making fun of things like his mannerisms, political ambitions, and wealth.
The great thing about this country is that people can speak their mind, and if some people are entitled the freedom of speech and some aren’t, there is something terribly wrong.
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2015/11/12/donald-trump-saturday-night-live-episode-draws-3-million-viewers/
athenanz has a good point. Trump had every right as an American citizen to go on SNL last weekend. And as athenanz said, SNL is a comedy show, and the skits regarding his public policy plans were more satirical than anything. Katie even said: the skits "poked fun at the absurdity" of his policy ideas. Sure, to all of us, Trump is crazy and should not be even considered for the Presidency. But to many people, Trump is a favorite. Whether it's because of the majestic photos of him posing with a bald eagle, his... charming... personality, or the creature that lives on top of his head, some people find Trump an appealing candidate. SNL is a TV show, and TV shows will sometimes do just about anything to get great ratings for an episode. If last week's episode managed to come out with 9.4 million (which according to athenanz, is the most viewers they've had since 2013) mlion people who had viewed it, then the producers must have done what was in the best interest of their TV show. Having Trump host last weeks episode was not any kind of stunt to show their support for Donald's campaign, but just an attempt to get people to watch their show. I do not support Trump as president, but I do not believe that SNL should be judged for having just another celebrity on their show.
As athenaz and many others have stated, it is very important that Trump have the opportunity to practice freedom of speech. If he wants to exercise this right by hosting SNL, so be it. SNL is meant to be a comedic television program, and it unfortunately often includes derogatory and offensive commentary. With that being said, it is very sad that shows like this take so many opportunities to offend people, and also that Trump decided to host despite his current status as a presidential candidate. However, I believe that as much as he has the right to freedom of speech, he should have, at the very least, monitored what he was saying in order to remain respectful as the potential future president. It was a very funny idea for SNL to host Trump, but in the end I think it will hurt his campaign because so many voters are outraged. He, as has happened numerous times in the past, made derogatory sexist and racist comments, which demonstrate a great level of immaturity and unprofessional behavior that is undesirable in a presidential candidate. An event like this is sure to get Trump a lot of publicity, but not all publicity is good publicity. Trump is so often in the news for negative comments and actions, which turn many voters off. Overall, I think that hosting SNL was a bad choice on Trump's part because he keeps opening up more opportunities for himself to offend voters.
After reading previous comments made on this post, i see both sides of the argument (was it inappropriate for Donald Trump to host Saturday Night Live). I do believe that it is Trump's right to excursive his freedom of speech and I agree that the purpose of the show this past saturday was to provide light comical commentary, not to in any way impact the presidential race. This being said, i still find Trump's appearance on the show to be inappropriate. The idea's that Donald Trump is best known for are, for the most part, awful. The fact that this man is running for president and he is best known for his sexist and racist remarks is unsettling to me, and the show brought these themes to light and made fun of them. Although the show framed these ideas in a negative light, it still gave them unnecessary attention.
I 100% agree with Hannah when she says that Trump is proving that all publicity is good publicity. It doesn't matter what light Donald Trump is being put in, he is still being talked about constantly and his views are being soaked up by the media. The media has taken SO much legitimacy from this election, unlike any other i have seen. We have witnessed debate questions being asked to provoke candidates instead of asking them legitimate questions about their political views and plans, and now presidential candidates are preforming the same skits as Miley Cyrus on a TV show?
Donald Trump should not be the only one criticized for this unprofessional stunt. On October 3rd, Hilary Clinton appeared on SNL too. This appearance was not nearly as controversial as Trumps, yet still we see the characters competing to run our nation on SNL, playing in inappropriate skits and making digs at each other. Despite my opinion, Trump still had 9.4 million viewers, so this appearance will certainly impact the campaign.
Political views aside, I really think having Trump on SNL was very amusing. I mean let's be honest a lot of people simply just do not take this man seriously, and although he is leading the polls in the Republican party as of now, there is simply just no way he will get enough votes from the Electoral College. That being said, he is a legitimate candidate but in all honestly just listen to some of the ideas this man has. Some of Trump's proposals are simply absurd, illogical, and just could not ever be made possible. Furthermore, I have not witnessed this man directly answer a specific question about a particular issue or topic, because he just always deflects the question by either answering it extremely vaguely, or just bringing up something that he's done right. Also, if anything this SNL skit will make people view him even more as a comedic character rather a serious presidential candidate. However, if somehow this boosts his rankings in the polls I will be seriously questioning what Americans think this man can do for our country. As for Trump's comments during the show, I think I have the same view as everyone else which is that the fact that he is able to joke about Rosie O'Donnel on national TV, a woman that he seriously offended and hurt is pretty disturbing in my mind. Not only that, but this man's demeanor is simply to radical, getting rid of all the illegal immigrants really does nothing, building a giant wall does nothing except waste money, and I'm shocked that this man is still a legitimate candidate. It seems to me, that Trump has been able to mask his lack of political knowledge by displaying his business knowledge, which is ironic mainly because Trump has had massive failures for many of his business enterprises. This SNL skit will definitely boost publicity for Trump, but I don' think it is going to significantly increase the amount of people that will vote for him.
Like many of the other commenters, I am a fan of SNL. In terms of what Trump stands for, I disagree with SNL's decision to have him host; however, I see why they did. Trump is undeniably entertaining, which is partially why the Republican debates have had such high ratings. People are eager to see what ridiculous thing he will do or say next. I really like how Hannah said that Trump is the classic example of "All publicity is good publicity." The more he appears in the media, often having nothing to do with his policy agenda, the more popular he will become. It's baffling to me that despite his absurd comments and actions, he continues to lead in the polls, which is a terrifying thought to say the least. It is sad that due to media's extremely large role in the election entertainment value is given more air time then the real issues.
In terms of Trump's performance on the show itself, I don't think it really did much for him. In his monologue, he attempted to poke fun at himself such as in the Aidy Bryant and Rosie O'Donnell comment as stated before; however it came off as uncomfortable and not funny. Even the sketch in which they pretended it was a few years into his presidency, it was ineffective. He honestly made himself more ridiculous especially when the "President of Mexico" handed him a check to build the wall as Katie stated in her original post. An rational person knows that this will never happen, and Trump's satirizing of his own policy made him seem even more like an illegitimate candidate. The Hotline Bling sketch was especially mortifying. It would be funny if Trump was simply a celebrity, but how can anyone take him seriously as a candidate if he is doing things like this! Especially leaders of other nations! Will Leitch of Bloomberg Politics commented on the effect of the show saying, "Did Trump do himself any good with his appearance? It's tough to see how. He wasn't particularly funny--it's always good to remember that being a showman in the realm of politics and a showman in the realm of entertainment are two far different things--and he didn't look comfortable either."
I really hope that as the primaries near, the electorate is able to refocus on the issues rather than the entertainment of election season.
Source:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-leopold/lorne-michaels-learns-tha_b_8515388.html
I like to play devil's advocate, and I'm seeing most people agree that it was inappropriate for SNL to have Trump be the host for the show. I agree with the minority who have said it was okay for Trump to host, like Kyle. It is his right to free speech after all. Was it right or wrong? That's for people to decide. However he did have the right, and while what he said may not have been productive or shown he is a good person at all, he still is allowed to do it. Besides, while he is the top Republican candidate to some, to others he is a joke, and SNL is all about comedy. So why not have the man who is considered a joke on their show? They want to draw views and they will do what they can to get them.
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