"Saturday Night Live" called up Alec Baldwin this weekend to reprise his performance as President Trump for a Christmas-themed skit. In the cold open, they parodied "It's a Wonderful Life." Except, this time instead of George Bailey, it was President Trump finding out what life would have been like had he never become president. The skit was full of the usual jabs at Trump, and once again the president tweeted out his displeasure. This time, he wondered aloud whether he could sue the skit show.
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?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 16, 2018
Rep.-elect Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) said that's not quite how it works.
Yes, the media deliberately misleads and spins. It’s legal, and it needs to remain legal. The 1st Amendment is the backbone of American exceptionalism. https://t.co/arNwbQsZgL
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) December 17, 2018
Crenshaw has some recent history with "Saturday Night Live." Last month cast member Pete Davidson had some fun with the congressional candidate's appearance. He joked in a "Weekend Update" skit that while he knew Crenshaw had lost an eye while fighting in Afghanistan, he couldn't help noting that the eye patch he wears made him look like a porn star villain. Davidson later apologized. Crenshaw had every right to lash out at Davidson's offensive remarks, but instead he chose to come on the show for a classy segment with Davidson, where the two used the controversy to commend veterans for their service.
While all presidents have been given the SNL treatment over the years, media analysts observe that producers are especially cruel when it comes to writing their one liners about 45.“Surely, ‘SNL’ has had fun with content about Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, but the tone has not been nearly as charged as with the attacks on Trump,” said DePauw University professor and media critic Jeffrey McCall. “’SNL’ is exercising its comedic and political free speech license to take on political personalities and issues as it sees fit, so Trump and his supporters should not expect any sort of balance. If anything, expect ‘SNL’ to give Trump a very rough time heading into the 2020 election season.”