Presidential hopeful Donald Trump is slated to host Saturday Night Live and Latino groups across the country have organized to protest the show.  For those who want SNL to rescind the offer, Trump is the symbol of a resurgent and unapologetic nativism and racism that is directly aimed at Latinos.  The show’s uneven history with diversity also points to the problematic issue of representation and white privilege.  The fact that a show which refuses to acknowledge its own institutionalized racism is joining forces with a personality who is quite comfortable with his public bigotry highlights the built-in nature of racialized power in this nation.  It is the institutional equivalent of the statement, “I’m not racist but…”

Trump’s appearance on SNL is not inconsequential.  Comedy has, in many ways, replaced journalism as the primary institution that keeps politics honest.  Today, journalists that ask difficult questions are forced out of press rooms and criticized by their peers for being “activists.”  Satire like The Daily Show, Colbert Report, The Nightly Show, and Last Week Tonight have revealed nightly news shows and newsclips to be absurdist performances that operate outside of the confines of truth or policy.  It is a dangerous moment when comedians are more interested in uncovering the truth and journalists are reduced to framing an unmoored “story.”  What happens when our politics become performance?  Trump happens.

While SNL is not one of the institutions associated with the transformation of political satire, it is one of the most important comedic and cultural institutions in the country.  Many see it as the “big leagues.”  Indeed, many of its alumni have become important writers, producers, and celebrities after leaving the show.  On occasion SNL has entered the fray of politics, but usually limited its critique to grotesque caricatures—think Will Ferrell’s George W. Bush and Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin.  Weekend Update is probably the most political piece in the SNL line-up and the smartest.  The recurring bit “Really?!” usually voiced the indignation of the head writers, pointing out the most ludicrous news stories, policies, and statements of the week.  Yet, most of the skits and recurring characters remain nonpolitical and even apolitical.

So why did SNL invite Donald Trump to host?  Perhaps SNL recognizes that our politics have become sad performance art that draws in viewers.  Maybe they recognize that Trump himself is not necessarily a presidential candidate but a celebrity in search of publicity.  Trump is the political and cultural equivalent of Ron Poepeil, but instead of “set it and forget it” he yells “Mexicans are rapists.”  The only difference is that a skit making fun of Popeil is safe and inconsequential.  Giving Trump a national stage to spew his vitriol within the guise of comedy is dangerous.  His racism is not funny; his policies are not funny; his desire to deport millions of people and deny their children their citizenship and amend our constitution is not funny.  By having Trump host SNL, SNL is recognizing that Trump is a joke.  And he is a joke, a bad joke.  But in this case nobody is laughing.

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