On December 17, 2018, President Donald Trump once again went to war against “Saturday Night Live” (SNL).
Trump is apparently threatening to sue the show after it aired a segment imagining a world in which he was never elected.
The sketch was a parody of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” the holiday James Stewart classic film, where a man wishes he were dead and an angel appears and grants his wish and he is shown what the world would be like if he never had lived.
You can view the entire skit here on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdQl7SxOHek
The SNL parody features key figures from in and outside the Trump administration gloating about how much better their lives are without a Donald Trump presidency.
Michael Cohen, the presidents “fixer”, played by Ben Stiller, who was sentenced to 3 years in federal prison for acting on his orders to pay women hush money during the 2016 election, isn’t going to prison in the skit.
Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders is making a lucrative living in public relations.
Presidential advisor Kellyanne Conway is on speaking terms with her husband who has been highly critical of Trump lately.
Newly approved Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, played by Matt Damon, gloats about how he’s free to talk about beer without coming off as physically threatening.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller, played by Robert DeNiro, gets to spend more time with his grandson instead of “investigating the president for treason.”
In a Sunday morning “tweet” Trump had this to say:
“A REAL scandal is the one sided coverage, hour by hour, of networks like NBC & Democrat spin machines like Saturday Night Live. It is all nothing less than unfair news coverage and Dem commercials. Should be tested in courts, can’t be legal? Only defame & belittle! Collusion?”
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/12/trump-saturday-night-live-lawsuit-wonderful-life/
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
Throughout his entire life, and especially when running for President, Trump has been litigious and hostile toward the media.
President Trump promotes hostility, mistrust and violence towards the press as well as his critics with his own words and actions.
Trump has often derided the media as “fake news,” even labeling reporters as “enemy of the people”.
A few months ago, Trump told his supporters at one of his pre-2018 mid-term rallies:
“I just cannot state strongly enough how totally dishonest much of the Media is. Truth doesn’t matter to them, they only have their hatred & agenda. This includes fake books, which come out about me all the time, always anonymous sources, and are pure fiction. Enemy of the People!”
Trump has never had a problem making fun of and ridiculing people in public.
When he was running for President, he mocked and made fun of all his opponents with nicknames such as “lyin Ted”, “low energy Jeb”, “little Marco”, “Pocahontas” and the ever so popular “crooked Hillary”.
Trump has made fun of woman about their weight and facial looks and called women he does not like “fat pigs”, “dogs”, “slobs”, and “disgusting animals”, has referred to “blood running out of places” of women when talking about a female newscaster.
When he was running for President, Trump went so far as to shake and move his arms around like he had a neurological disorder to mimic and make fun of a reporter who did have such a disorder and who was asking Trump tough questions.
After seeing the skit on Saturday Night Live, there is no doubt it will be an instant classic to be repeated over and over again.
Throughout the entire history of this country, political parody, political satire and political cartoons have been protected free speech.
Political satire and humor is the most effective way of really cutting through all the Trump rhetoric and lies, especially when it is based on some elements of fact in the news.
As President Harry Truman once said, “If you cannot stand the heat get out of the kitchen.”
Many are hoping that Special Counsel Robert Mueller will be turning up the heat hot enough for Mr. Trump to leave the White House, the sooner the better.
Frankly, I can not wait for the SNL parody of the Donald Trump Senate Impeachment hearings that will be unfolding sooner rather than later now that the Democrats have the majority in the House of Representatives.
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