During the Trump-era, ‘Saturday Night Live’ (SNL) got a shot of cultural relevance through its comedic take on the first family. But now entering a post-Trump era, the show is going to need to come up with new material to hang onto its American liberal audience.
Everybody loves a joke, especially when people are making fun of Donald Trump and his presidency. It would almost be hilarious if the whole situation wasn’t so real.
Over his four years as President of the United States, Donald Trump managed to create a deeper systematic divide, that was already prominent in American society. His blatant racism, misogyny, enablement of white-supremacists, and his dictator-like rhetoric, took over his presidency and instilled fear and anger in American citizens.
For some people who wanted to escape the Trump charade, SNL became a constant reminder of the unstable times they were living in as U.S citizens.
But now that he’s known as 2020 U.S Presidential election loser Donald Trump, will the Trump-era fade out and leave the popular U.S comedy show SNL without its favourite punchline?
In the dawning of the Trump-era, comedians were given the golden comedy gift of the new president, a man who was supposed to be running one of the most powerful countries in the world.
SNL took the opportunity to make sketches of the first family a regular on the show, providing SNL with a massive spike in ratings and a rejuvenating shot of cultural relevance.
Alec Baldwin and his uncanny impressions of Trump became a stable at 30 Rock, along with one of the show’s most memorable sketches, Scarlett Johansson’s faux ad for Ivanka Trump’s perfume “Complicit”.
SNL’s viewers were then introduced to Donald’s sons, Donald Jr and Eric Trump, played by Alex Moffat and Mikey Day, as they sat down with the host Colin Jost to talk about the leadership at the Trump businesses after the elder Trump took office. The show had some golden moments and became a cultural touchstone for American liberals, but did SNL become too reliant on the Trump-era to stay relevant?
For some viewers, SNL’s response to the Trump era and their political sketches grew tiresome, fairly quickly. So, in a post-Trump era, it is naive of us to expect SNL to move on.
After Joe Biden was announced as U.S President-elect, SNL made it clear that you wouldn’t see the end of Trump, as the impressionist Alec Baldwin dressed as a defeated Trump, and sang his rendition of the Village Peoples “Macho Man”.
He finished his sketch with “This isn’t goodbye, America,” Baldwin said. “I’m just going to say, see you in court.”
It’s safe to assume that with the post-election chaos caused by Trump’s tweets, threats of lawsuits, and claims of ballot fraud, this won’t be the end of Trump on SNL or international media.
Shauna Burdis
Image credit: Carlos Barraia Reuters
Note: This article was reuploaded on 26/03/2021 due to a fault with The College View website.