SNL: The Big Trump Fiasco

I've written many times that I'm a Saturday Night Live fan from episode one (live). I've mentioned that the show was never really as funny as we remember, having always had dragging skits and scattershot laughs in any given episode. It is also never as bad at any given moment as people say it is. People have been saying that it "hasn't been funny in years" for literally decades, even as it makes stratospheric stars out of countless comedians and actors. It is what it is: a late night variety show, which is at the mercy of current events, pressured writing and acting, divaesque (though often terrible) musical acts, and guest hosts that span anywhere from terrific (Roseanne, Melissa McCarthy) to absolutely terrible (Louise Lasser, Milton Berle). Donald Trump was not the worst, but he was closer to the latter than the former.

I expected very little from Trump, and he (and they) delivered. He couldn't get too risqué, he couldn't get too political, and I knew he wouldn't get too self deprecating. They also didn't use him very much, in comparison to say, Miley Cyrus, who was in almost every sketch. The Donald's time amounted to about 12 minutes. SNL got a bump in the ratings, Trump gets. . .not much, other than a footnote in SNL history. He gained zero new fans or converts. He may have patched some sore spots with NBC, but I can't really see what else he'd get from such a lackluster performance.