Through the midst of the presidential election, Saturday Night Live (SNL) covered the debates with hilarious remakes. Although controversial and dramatized, SNL parodies on the presidential debates are shockingly accurate. Along with the rest of the world, my jaw dropped a few times while watching the presidential debates. SNL covered all of the shocking moments that took place at these debates. It has been apparent from the beginning of this election that the media has not held back its opinions. The most common endorsements from the news have been for Hillary Clinton and against Donald Trump. Although I agree with the media supporting Clinton, it is refreshing to watch unbiased judgements of the candidates. SNL’s remakes of the already ridiculous debates do a good job at showing both Clinton and Trump’s flaws.
The SNL actors, Alec Baldwin and Kate McKinnon, resemble Trump and Clinton extremely well. From Trump’s sniffing to Clinton’s shimmying, all aspects of the debate were shown. After months of back and forth between Trump and Clinton, the world was excited to see what the candidates would bring to the table. SNL started the series with an appropriate name “Cold Open.”
Not only did Baldwin look identical to Trump, but he portrayed his misogynistic and aggressive attitude perfectly throughout the SNL debates. During the second debate, SNL made a controversial comment about Trump and his past. Baldwin answered a question about modeling appropriate behavior for children by saying that he “marries the kids.” After hearing this, along with other harsh jokes, Trump decided to speak out on Twitter, his go-to place for calling out the media. By calling the show “boring” and “unfunny,” it is obvious that Trump felt like some of the jokes were too harsh. Considering Trump previously said “It’s just words,” when defending his own offensive language, I find it irritating that he cannot hold the same views when others criticize him.
During all the SNL debates, McKinnon did an impressive job impersonating Clinton. Clinton’s personality was highlighted by attempts at being relatable and forced enthusiasm. Multiple times through the skit McKinnon made remarks about how she had already won the election. This can be seen as SNL being biased, or the reality of this year’s election. Unlike Trump, Clinton has not responded to the show in a negative way. Most of the jokes made about Clinton were mocking her personality and how people view her. When ending the first SNL debate, McKinnon embraced everyone’s opinion towards her. She threatened the audience that if she was to lose, they would never stop seeing her face, any republicans worst fear.
This election has been an ongoing fight between both parties. SNL showed this battle in a more hilarious way. Towards the end of the second presidential debate, each candidate was asked to explain what they like about eachother. Both responses from Clinton and Trump, although forced, were remarkably kind. Trump admiring how Clinton never gives up and Clinton complementing Trump’s kids was unexpected. However, SNL did not show the friendliness between both candidates. Instead, McKinnon said that she appreciated how generous Baldwin was for handing over the election. Overall, SNL did an impressive job on showing both the responses from the candidates and the joke that this election has been.
Despite the sarcasm and humor in the SNL skits, they provide a truthful recap of the 90 minute debates. With some offensive remarks on both candidates, the majority of the skits are unbiased. Trump received some harsh jokes about his personality in all three debates. However, with a personality like his, the remarks were well deserved. It is nearly impossible to cover all the ridiculousness that the debates contained, but overall I recommend the SNL debates for a more laid back and hilarious approach.
