This weekend Saturday Night Live opened their show as they usually do with a satirical skit regarding politics. For last weekend’s episode they poked fun at the recent Presidential Debate. The skit was hilarious, detailing the mannerisms of either candidate that occurred during the actual debate, as well as incorporating all of the recent news to break out about either candidate within the last week.
The sketch began with the commentators, Anderson Cooper and Martha Raddatz introducing the candidates. Raddatz states, “Please help us welcome the candidates, Republican nominee Donald Trump, and, can we say this yet, President Hillary Clinton,” noting how the election is looking dire for Trump at this point. The candidates came out on the stage stalking one another like animals from an African safari and the crowd exploded into laughter.
Most people can probably agree that Alec Baldwin and Kate McKinnon portray Trump and Clinton perfectly, making the skit seem all the more real. McKinnon notes within the skit all of the ways Clinton can sometimes come off as over-rehearsed, when she tries to do a “casual lean” or when she walks up towards the audience and has to count as she steps. Baldwin, on the other hand, brings attention to Trump’s taboo and inappropriate behavior and comments, by stating at one point, “I love kids, okay, I love them so much I marry them.”
SNL is also careful to bring up points in their skits that have to do with what people talk about on social media. It is no secret that memes of Ken Bone have been circulating since the debate, so SNL made sure to include him in the sketch, as he was one of the most popular faces from the debate. Plus, many pictures of Trump standing behind Clinton in a frightening manner circulated last week, so Saturday Night brought that to the table too.
Overall, this sketch hit the nail on the head and represented both Trump and Clinton in the ways a lot of people see them. SNL has always done a beautiful job poking fun at political figures and because this election is so comical on its own, the writer’s at Saturday Night really have their work cut out for them. This sketch lived up to all expectations, proving that SNL has still got it.