Donald Trump might not be inclined to host Saturday Night Live again anytime soon.
Four months, almost to the day, after his much-hyped hosting gig, the NBC comedy show this weekend ripped into the Republican presidential candidate with a blistering mock campaign ad featuring endorsements from everyday "supporters"—who seem normal at first, but turn out to be hiding a few secrets.
The theme is really nothing new—the Nazi Germany references have been flying for a while, and earlier on Saturday, Louis C.K. also likened Trump to Hitler. Trump has also been dealing with a Ku Klux Klan gaffe that has threatened to dent his support (though it seems to have been just another speed bump).
Still, it is startling to see the swastika and KKK references on screen in SNL's ad.
The spot certainly pulls no punches, and SNL also piled on during the episode by airing a mock version of the Trump/Chris Christie press conference. (See below.) Still, in the wake of the brutal takedown, SNL was met with derision and labeled hypocritical by some for allowing Trump to host in November—and thus helping to create the monster.
hahahaha great anti-Trump bit calling him out as racist SNL, remember how you invited him to host your show?
— Dana Schwartz (@DanaSchwartzzz) March 6, 2016
Not that Lorne Michaels has ever hidden the fact that SNL's job is to talk about what everyone else is talking about—and hopefully pull in big ratings along the way.
"People are always looking for [the show] to be on the side of [Hillary] Clinton, and that's not what we do," he told The Hollywood Reporter last month. "If Trump is ascendant, then we will be discussing that."
