NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” has been slammed as “completely inappropriate” for highlighting assassination attempts. former president trump In its latest episode.
“SNL” has managed to take a break from comedy for tragic moments in the past, such as when Kate McKinnon performed a version of “Hallelujah” impersonating Hillary Clinton following Trump’s shocking victory in the 2016 election. Was. But while the Democratic nominee’s loss to Trump in 2016 was worthy of a sombre atmosphere, the recent assassination attempts on Trump were not.
The 50th season of the long-running program debuted Saturday evening, with a number of special guests poking fun at current political affairs, such as Maya Rudolph as Vice President Kamala Harris, Andy Samberg as her husband Doug Emhoff, Gov. As Jim Gaffigan. Tim Walz and Dana. Carvey as President Biden.
James Austin Johnson played Trump and satirized the first assassination attempt – which left one of Trump’s supporters dead – which took place in Butler, PA on July 13, as he portrayed the former president at one of his rallies. Was.
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James Austin Johnson played former President Trump and satirized the first assassination attempt, which took place in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. (NBC/screengrab)
“Where the hell is everyone going? Where are you going? I see you’re trying to leave, but the doors are closed. Come back – we’re having fun. We love our rallies, except When somebody goes ‘bing, bong, bing, bing’ right at me,” Johnson said of Trump, referring to the gunshots. “You know it happened because of the rhetoric of the radical left. They say me blaming the Democrats for inciting violence is like calling the kettle black.”
Former NBCUniversal senior executive mike singtonJoe now bills himself as a pop culture expert and Hollywood insider, who couldn’t believe “SNL” had gone there.
“I was watching it live, and I actually cried when they made fun of the assassination attempts in an effort to be funny,” Sington said. “I’m not a Trump fan, but I thought it was in extremely poor taste.” ” fox news digital,
Fox News host Jimmy Falla was not surprised as “SNL” has moved from comedy to “activism as comedy” in recent years. Display openly celebrated Trump’s defeat In 2020, and its cast members
“‘SNL’ has basically evolved into a group therapy session for liberals who are out of touch with the zeitgeist,” Fella told Fox News Digital.
Fella said the infamous “Hallelujah” presentation after Clinton’s 2016 defeat proved how self-absorbed the show is, especially when considering that Trump was a longtime NBC personality before entering politics. .
“They go after things that work well in the liberal bubble, but look stupid to the rest of us, because it looks like activism masquerading as comedy,” Fela said.
He added, “The things they make fun of with Biden are harmless things, whereas the things they make fun of with Trump always have an undercoating that moves the conversation toward how their audience will vote.” Going to do.” “It’s down to a show that has really made a mark by dabbling in politics, but in an accessible way, which is what we try to do in our show.”
Falla, who hosts “Fox News Saturday Night,” believes that anything can be made fun of if it’s done with interest.
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Fox News host Jimmy Falla was not surprised as “SNL” has moved from comedy to “activism as comedy” in recent years. (Fox News)
“If you’re making fun of a situation where he was shot and someone else was killed, it better be funny. It better be worth squeezing like juice, which clearly isn’t the case. Was,” Fela said. “And they made no effort to hide their political bias in the way they covered it.”
Failla said many people turn to comedy for distraction, but “SNL” doesn’t provide the release it used to.
“They’re focusing on division. And I cover politics every week. So, I’m not saying they shouldn’t do it. I’m just saying they’re covering it this way. Which is clearly promoting one side wholeheartedly. On this path sometimes you see malice in what they are doing,” Fela said.
He said, “You can make fun of anything in the name of comedy. But if you are making fun of it in the name of political ideology, you are not doing comedy.” “You’re masquerading as activism as comedy. And that’s what it came across. It just came across as tasteless activism.”
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Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton sang Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” during the “Election Week Cold Open” sketch. (Will Heath/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
Political satirist Tim Young believes the NBC program “jumped sharply politically” several years ago, especially when he treated Trump’s 2016 victory “as if it were a funeral”, with McKinnon giving a dark Was playing piano on stage.
“From that point on, it’s pure left-wing propaganda. Their mocking of attempts to assassinate Trump was completely inappropriate,” Young told Fox News Digital.
Young believes that mocking the assassination attempts “promotes left-wing conspiracies that it never happened” as well as “downplays the seriousness of the threats on Trump’s life.”
“I believe it encourages more lunatics and alien adversaries to try,” Young said.
trump campaign Posted on social media“There were two assassination attempts against President Trump within seven weeks. @nbcsnl apparently finds this ridiculous. Disgusting.”
“SNL” also referenced the assassination attempts during a “Weekend Update” segment, during which, after playing a clip of Trump, Colin Jost quipped that he was “starting to worry that the bullet hit a little more than just the ear.” Is”. Better “body” than President Biden at a recent rally.
Conservative radio host Jason Rantz said he is “in favor of comedy and having no rules about its goal” as long as everything is balanced and entertaining.
Rantz told Fox News Digital, “Bad taste? Sure, but that’s their choice. My issue is how disgustingly one-sided the humor has become.”
He added, “It’s not just Trump he hates, but everyone who supports him.” “At the very least, you’d expect them to be funny, despite being so obnoxiously partisan. But no, they’re not. They haven’t been funny for decades.”
Former President Trump was injured during an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, PA on July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Ivan Vucci)
When Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt against him in July, a bullet passed the president’s ear and the shooter killed 50-year-old Corey Comparator – a husband, father and former fire chief at the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Department. Did it. Gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks also seriously injured two other rallygoers. A few weeks later, 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested on September 15. allegedly push the muzzle An AK-47 through a chainlink fence outside where Trump was playing golf in Florida.
While Young is surprised that the program will shed light on the assassination attempts, he also noticed something “important” during the same sketch.
“They made fun of Biden’s confusion, hair smell, etc. in real time for the first time since he came into office,” Young said.
“‘SNL’ has previously defended Biden without being tough on him,” Young said. “Now that Kamala has been established as the Democrat nominee, they finally treat her the same way they have other candidates before Trump.”
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Fox News Digital’s Hannah Panarek contributed to this report.
