It’s the one day of the week that everyone stops and pauses: Mom waxes the floors early so they can dry in time, Dad has already read the paper and the kids are sound asleep in their beds, not to make a peep. The parents gather around the television and anxiously wait to turn the dial to hear “Live from New York, It’s Saturday Night Live”. SNL has been the epitome of satirical television since its first episode aired. For decades, it has provided comedic relief through difficult times in America and provided a light hearted comedic depiction of the news from a satirical standpoint, something dynamic in the face of such a stagnant enterprise. Many people look to the media as a politic conformant but also look to politic parodies as a source of comedic relief in times of politic duress. While SNL has its shining moments in non-political related sketches, many of its political sketches can be seen as having biased towards certain politicians and people in the political world based on their impersonations. Majorly it can be seen as having bias towards Democrats, portraying them in a softer light than that of Republicans. With SNL’s wide range of an audience and many viewing this as a primary news source, there is doubt in its strictly satirical title and that it possesses no influence into the realm of politics and elections. In its political sketches, it has targeted politicians and presidents like Donald Trump, Gerald Ford and George W Bush, denigrating their image and leaving a joke of a legacy. Not only does this image affect their legacy past their political term, but it also affects their competency and eligibility before taking office as it influences voters’ perceptions during elections. During times of political frustration, Saturday Night Live has provided comedic relief but has evolved its lighthearted impersonations into a political statement that highlights flaws in politicians in a legacy that lasts longer than their term.

SNL has always been an outlet for political frustration, but recently the media source has released biased skits that target politicians and portray them in a denigrating manner. Starting with its first presidential impersonation, SNL brought comedy to an unsure America following the Watergate scandal and an unpredictable president. This became the beginning where SNL could use satire in order to present a political opinion and influence the perspective of viewers’ and future voters’ opinions. Chevy Chase presented Ford as a daft and incapable president and falsifying his unexpected inauguration as incompetence and inexperience, which “cemented Ford’s identity as a bumbling president, arguably a perception that outlived Ford” (Oliver).  The American people could look to these skits as a validation for their doubt as his flaws were greatly exaggerated and his undeveloped reputation became negative. His hesitancy became ineptitude and his inexperience became inadequacy. Ford’s presence on news media was very solemn and serious, so a different presentation that being clumsy and foolish would have been more memorable than the reality. 

Ford is not the only president who was mocked by his ineptitude, Bush is another example of one whose criticisms were based on exaggerations. Will Ferrell’s constant mocking of his public speaking ability “factored into the legacy of Bush’s presidency” and deemed that he “he will be remembered for his numerous verbal slip-up” (Oliver). This representation paints him in a negative light diplomatically. The president should be able to present ideas not only to the public citizens but also to foreign dignitaries. Portraying such a prominent and important figure in such an inefficient and incompetent way, reflects badly on the government and on the American people as a voting system. People who are not citizens who view this might misinterpret the title of satire and or miss that it is supposed to be satire and negatively regard our society along the same lines: voting for such a fool makes the entirety look foolish. 

Not only did Bush’s representation reflect badly on the voters but so does the impersonation of the current president, Donald Trump. SNL has specifically targeted republican presidents in the past and portrayed them in a harsh light but never as denigrating and humiliating as they do the current president. SNL is part of NBC, which possess a news channel that is biased towards the left (Media Bias Fact Check). SNL has become a way for the rhetor, being NBC, to paint bias towards a large audience and influence their perception of politicians. There has begun a battle for authority and dominance between Donald Trump and NBC as well as with SNL on the social media platform of twitter. Trump has tweeted about the prejudiced impersonations exclaiming “Just tried watching Saturday Night Live - unwatchable! Totally biased, not funny and the Baldwin impersonation just can't get any worse. Sad” (@realDonaldTrump). In the past, candidates and politicians have used SNL as a tool for their advantage when campaigning. Although, Trump does not take well to criticism he has received from NBC and SNL and has attacked them on twitter furthering the motive for SNL to cross into political waters and denounce him in such a manner. While critics may view the SNL impersonations as merely highlighting what Donald Trump already puts on social media and how he is portrayed in the news, it does not hide the fact that SNL is using its platform in order to emphasize the incompetency of this person and deliver a political message to its viewers, citizens in the US. Trump is already portrayed in a certain light by news media but the satirical SNL takes a political stance by using its “comedic depiction of Trump [to] undermine his authority and shift [the]focus to his weaknesses, thus reaffirming his negative public perception” (Oliver).  Even though the impersonation is meant to be comedic, its impact is more significant than merely a laugh. It reinforces the ideas of his incapability and weaknesses that are portrayed over the news. SNL is even viewed by some as a primary news source as it “has gained influence” into the political world “from the ways in which social media has altered viewing habits” (Bissell 5). The struggle between Donald Trump and SNL for power and credibility has led to SNL crosses the boundary from satirical comedy into biased news channel in order to gain headway in the conflict. 

SNL impersonations leave a lasting impact on its viewers who are also voters and influence their perceptions during elections and campaign. While it is labelled satire, SNL hides behind the cover of comedy to reveal flawed portrayals of politicians that directly favor the left side. SNL uses its platform “as a powerful force in the political landscape, effectively cementing the public’s perceptions of political developments and political figures” (Oliver).  It is different than other news sources because it’s able to “put the election into a perspective that real news sources were not able to do” in doing so “they were able to go beyond and parody the major effect it might have on the election” (Kennedy). A fresh comical visual depiction of a political event leaves a lasting impression on the mind more so than a common news story. Things equated with an emotion, laughter, are more memorable than just plain, repetitive information. Although the opposition may state that it is purely satire and the point of satire is to disrupt stagnant perceptions and raise doubt, SNL uses its satirical title as a shield going beyond the line of comedy to deliver biased perceptions. Even Lorne Michaels, the executive producer of SNL, stated that “Republicans are easier to mock because they think impersonations are funny whereas Democrats take them as personal attacks” (Oliver). SNL’s so called ‘mockings’ are biased, denigrating, political messages that have an exaggerated negative impact on voters’ perceptions on a distorted scale. Michaels even claims that they avoid impersonating Democrats and instead solely focus on the Republicans. This statement proves the unequal representation of politicians in the media and its distortion on voters’ perceptions. 

Actors on the show use impersonations in order to make political statements that have political consequences directly upon voters’ perceptions or even political elections. Chevy Chase “[took] credit for Carter’s defeat of Ford” (Day, Amber and Ethan Thompson) stating that “I think I had some influence” through his impersonation that illustrated Ford as incompetent and daft (qtd. SNL and the (Non Politics of Parody 174). Tina Fey, a former cast member of SNL, frequently impersonated Sarah Palin and “used Palin’s own words and embellished them… ultimately creating a vision of the politician as hopelessly vapid and uninformed (Day, Amber and Ethan Thompson 179). This demonstrates how the sketches could be perceived as a primary news source due to the fact that part of it is factual, but even the factual part is taken and manipulated into a political message laced through satire. Tina Fey has used the “Weekend Update”, a ‘news’ segment during SNL, to highlight her views on the larger political debate and influence the audiences’ political ideas with humor. She also used SNL as a platform, along with Amy Poehler, to publicly endorse Presidential Candidate, Hillary Clinton. Candidates have begun to make use of SNL specifically in their favor during campaigns in order to present themselves in a filtered light before SNL is able to satirize them and ruin their reputation. SNL becomes an outlet for cast members to express their political views but also display the political views of NBC.  

During times of political frustration, Saturday Night Live has provided comedic relief but has evolved its lighthearted impersonations into a political statement that highlights flaws in politicians in a legacy that lasts longer than their term. SNL uses its satire label as a shield to hide behind the cover of comedy to reveal distorted portrayals of politicians which favors the left side.  While SNL brings a refreshing comical perspective to stagnant politics, it’s refreshing, comical perspective also has a persuasive influence that can impact viewers’ impression on politicians and politics overall. Impersonations on Presidents Ford, Bush and Trump have all impacted the perception of these politicians in a way that impacts their reputation past their political career. SNL’s political sketches raise in popularity during elections and campaigns because of the way that the candidates are portrayed, in a very different light than during the daily news media. In doing so, the viewer who becomes the voter is presented with an exaggerated and more memorable interpretation of politicians; this is the way that SNL is able to indirectly influence the election of politicians. Viewers of SNL or any political parody should be aware of the bias or even potential for bias on any news platform and use it as comedic relief rather than a primary news source. 

 

 