Racist, and Proud of It

“Why are you hosting Saturday Night Live?” Donald Trump asks himself contemplatively during his monologue. He answers himself: “I have really nothing better to do.”

A smattering of weak laughter ripples through the audience, a pattern that will continue for the rest of the night. While Donald Trump was hosting SNL, over 200 Latino protesters stood outside NBC’s studio, furious over their decision to allow Trump on the show. As Trump made multiple racist remarks regarding Mexican immigrants earlier in June (“They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists”), these protesters were rather justified in their outcry.

Trump’s appearance on SNL on Saturday night, November 7th, was highly anticipated both by those who love to watch idiocy broadcast live and Trump’s actual fans. SNL received its highest ratings in years for this episode.

Trump made his first appearance during his monologue, during which the camera swept over the audience in the first few rows: almost exclusively white males. As he delivered his bit, two toupee-donning Trump look alikes flanked him on either side, mocking his mannerisms and poking fun at his sayings. However, they failed to mention the ignorant statements made by Trump in the past, and instead reinforced the image of Trump as a confident, racist billionaire, all while the real Trump shook his head with a disparaging smirk. “I can take a joke,” says Trump. “I don’t hold grudges.”

The most disturbing thing about his statement is how applicable it is to the SNL episode. The entire premise of that particular night was to joke about Trump instead of criticizing his racist words and actions. His racist persona was certainly acknowledged during the show, but it was treated as if his racism was acceptable. At one point, Larry David yells, “Trump’s a racist!” The audience hollers and claps, but there is the unmistakable air of good-natured fun. David then claims that he was promised $5,000 by an anti-racism organization to call out Trump live, which invalidated his statement as one derived from a deal, and not one that he stood behind. Though David’s face held some bitterness, his accusation coupled with his real incentive swept aside Trump’s racism once again, neatly avoiding the topic and implying that Trump’s racism is not problematic.

The first sketch of the episode was set in a dystopian future, featuring Trump in the Oval Office during his second year of presidency. After an excruciating minute of self praise from Trump and his cabinet members (including a joke about Putin withdrawing from Ukraine after Trump called him a loser, which is highly unbelievable), the President of Mexico walks in with a check that is meant to pay for the wall Trump wants to build between the United States and Mexico. This got some laughs, but it was perturbing to see how so many audience members tolerated and adored Trump’s bigotry.

Most of the remaining sketches of the night did not feature Trump. He was made fun of, sparingly, during the Weekend Update, but that was the extent of the criticism he received. NBC clearly touted Trump during this episode, reinforcing his ignorant and racist character in order to capitalize off his appearance on the show.

Trump has easily become the most talked-about and well known GOP candidate of the 2016 elections. His brash manner and blatantly racist opinions make him stand out from all the other candidates, causing controversy to stir among the nation. While many Americans are incensed by his mindless blabber, a great number are also entertained by him. He does what he wants. He is racist and proud of it. Trump’s actual following is not significant, but the amount of people who acknowledge him is enough to give him the power to appear so frequently in media. SNL proved how the butt of a joke can be so easily be given power by a complicit audience.