Critics Agree: Donald Trump Bombed And Was A Disaster As Host Of SNL

Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 06:37 pm

The reviews of Donald Trump hosting SNL are in, and they are not good for the Republican presidential candidate, or the show.

Yahoo TV’s Ken Tucker delivered a painful blow by blow recap of Trump’s appearance and concluded, “Turns out, this really was just a craven move for ratings. There was no attempt by Lorne Michaels and company to use Trump as a critique of himself, no moment that did not feel vetted by the candidate.”

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Dennis Perkins of The A.V. Club was blunt in his review of the show as an unfunny and watered down platform for Trump, “In the end, the episode was as inoffensive as the writers and Trump’s advisors could make it—without being funny. Whatever their political views, viewers looking for a good episode of SNL didn’t get one. Trump supporters can fob off their disappointment in the quality of the show on cast and writers, but only the most blinkered could deny that the candidate came off as stilted, bland, and unprepared in the very little screen time he was given. (Someone has calculated his total on-screen appearance at 12 minutes, which actually sounds a little high.) I’m trying to think of another host in SNL history who was so shielded during the course of their episode, and, given his leaden timing and lack of commitment in the live sketches he did appear in, even Trump fanatics must have been relieved at how little he was given to do.”

The Wrap’s Daniel Holloway delivered a big picture view of how far the SNL franchise has fallen, “What Michaels got for his trouble was an episode that will probably end up being the most talked-about of this season, but for all the wrong reasons. Nobody who watched Trump host the show in 2004, or who knows good comedy, or who has two working eyes and basic motor skills, tuned into this episode because he or she expected it to be good. And it was not….Every time Michaels does this — every time he invites someone onto “SNL” whom the show would be better off skewering, every time he tones things down to accommodate a guest of significant power and significantly offensive worldview — he takes the show farther and farther away from its radical roots.”

SNL worked with a presidential campaign to water down their show to accommodate Donald Trump. The concept itself is offensive to what SNL used to be. A program that used to be cutting edge pimped itself out for a cheap ratings grab.

I hope Lorne Michaels is happy with the few extra viewers that Trump brought in because he alienated millions of younger viewers by giving Trump’s bigoted views a national platform or what is supposed to be a comedy show.

It turns out that Donald Trump isn’t good at politics or comedy. Egomaniacal racism and bigotry are not funny. Donald Trump is a mainstream media creation, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that the ultimate mainstream network show would pander to the billionaire.

Trump bombed and took SNL down with him.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association