Why Saturday Night Live Choosing Trump As Host Is Especially Hypocritical

Donald Trump, 2016 GOP Frontrunner
Donald Trump speaking at CPAC (Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons)

When news broke of 2016 GOP front runner Donald Trump hosting Saturday Night Live on November 7th, the reaction was swift and brutal. Just months ago, NBC and Univision cut all ties with his Miss USA and Miss Universe pageant as well as firing him from The Apprentice. Their statement at the time read:

“Due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants, NBCUniversal is ending its business relationship with Mr. Trump.”

That was months ago, before Trump was the runaway front runner for the Republican Presidential Nomination. But more importantly, it was months before his debate performance generated record ratings for CNN and Fox News. The hypocrisy was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. But one criticism based in Saturday Night Live’s storied history stood out:

SNL 1975: Kissinger asks for tickets. Al Franken tells him to apologize for the Christmas bombing of Cambodia first. SNL 2015: Trump hosts.

— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) October 13, 2015

1975 was the very first year, first season of Saturday Night Live, and Henry Kissinger was the sitting United States Secretary of State. This was akin to a mouse telling an elephant (that controlled the USA’s nuclear arsenal) to screw off. I dug a little deeper, and found that Harris was slightly wrong on the specifics:

Henry Kissinger personally called the SNL offices to request tickets to the show, Al happened to pick up the phone, and curtly informed the ex-Secretary of State that his request would not be honored. When Kissinger — indignant at the slight — asked why he couldn’t score the tickets, Al calmly replied: ‘Because of the bombing of Cambodia.’

As with so many Franken anecdotes, it provokes that shock-laugh: but it’s also a token of bone-deep commitment, a sense of justice as palpable and strong as a heartbeat.”

If only Nixon had been taping that phone call! Is there any universe where the same Saturday Night Live that invited Sarah Palin would make anything resembling the same stand today? Maybe it’s too much to ask in 2015 when Saturday Night Live is struggling to stay relevant amid hundreds of channels and dozens of young comedians showcasing their talents elsewhere. Al Franken is doing slightly more important work right now as a United States Senator, but you have to wish on some level that Saturday Night Live might return to that same sense of justice. Because, right now Donald Trump’s invitation has the heartbeat flat-lining.

Hi. I'm Joe, a writer out of Music City, USA. I'm a proud Tennessee Tech grad who lived in Houston & Austin Texas for 7 years before moving back to Nashville recently. I'm an avid Netflix addict who also loves Basketball, Hockey, and am trying to get into the English Premier League.