Skip to footer

Should NBC have let Donald Trump host 'Saturday Night Live'?

Although Donald Trump's punch lines drew few laughs, some critics are the most embarrassed for NBC, saying the network sacrificed comedic integrity for Trump-promised ratings.

|
Dana Edelson/NBC via AP
This Nov. 3, 2015 photo provided by NBC shows, "Saturday Night Live" cast member Cecily Strong, left, and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in New York. Trump hosted the show on Nov. 7.

For NBC’s late night comedy ‘Saturday Night Live,’ cameos by presidential candidates are pretty much expected.

But a presidential candidate as host? That is more surprising. And as the Associated Press put it, “Despite a 40-year history of lampooning politicians while inviting some to mock themselves as on-air guests, booking a presidential candidate to host the NBC sketch-comedy show is almost unprecedented.”

On Saturday, leading GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump hosted Saturday Night Live, as protesters picketed outside of the New York studio. And although Trump drew few laughs, some say his hosting appearance was a smart political move for the real estate mogul. Trump shaped the show to his advantage, and NBC let him.

Before the show, Trump told Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly that he refused to participated in some skit ideas because they were “too risqué” and “I’m leading in Iowa, I want to stay leading in Iowa.”

“I walk into the room, there are 100 [writers] – and they’re all about 17 years old, OK? They’re all young and all up in your face,” Trump told O’Reilly. “But they come up with many, many skits and you pick the ones you think you like.”

According to a measurement by Variety, Trump was on screen for about 12 minutes – far less than past hosts’ time on screen, with Amy Schumer clocking in nearly 26 minutes for the Oct. 10 episode  she hosted and Miley Cyrus starring in almost 22 minutes for her Oct. 3 episode.  

Maybe NBC was conscious of Trump’s limited experience performing scripted comedy, or maybe they were hyper-aware of the FCC’s ‘equal time rule’ that requires television stations to grant equal air time to other presidential candidates who request it. Either way, Trump seemed confident that his SNL appearance would garner high ratings for NBC – no matter how they were won. 

Trump’s episode gave SNL its biggest ratings since 2012, close to 10 million viewers. Saturday’s episode beat the previous ratings high from the season premiere a few weeks ago with host Miley Cyrus by 47 percent. The ‘Trump effect’ is also evident in GOP debates, where the first three debates hit 61 million viewers, a statistic that took 13 debates in 2011.

With the majority of Americans having ‘unfavorable’ views of Trump, the ratings are could be less of a signal towards political success and more proof of Americans fascination, morbid or otherwise, with the billionaire presidential contender. 

Hank Stuever, the Washington Post's television critic, called Trump's appearance "almost certainly inappropriate" for the network, as well as unfunny.

"Having Trump host “SNL” is a tacit nod of approval — of his message, his antics and, yes, his campaign to be the Republican presidential nominee," wrote Mr. Stuever.

"Bring back the old America," he writes, "the one where our preeminent vehicle for topical satire would have ably skewered a hateful, nonsensical, vainglorious presidential candidate, rather than invite him into the club and give him more of the empty-calorie media attention he seeks."

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Should NBC have let Donald Trump host 'Saturday Night Live'?
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2015/1108/Should-NBC-have-let-Donald-Trump-host-Saturday-Night-Live
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe