There was a time not all that long ago, when the idea of an American president venting his outrage toward a late night sketch comedy show for depicting him in an unflattering light would’ve been absolutely absurd.
We call that time “the entirety of American history prior to January 20, 2017.”
(In fairness, there were no sketch comedy shows during most of that period, but we imagine the Founding Fathers suppressed the urge to get upset over particularly droll etchings or something.)
As you’ve probably heard, President Trump is feuding with SNL because we’re living in some heavy-handed satirist’s version of America, in which the president gets all pissy when comedians make fun of him and then takes to social media to tell the world about it.
One of the many reasons sane world leaders avoid that sort of behavior is because it gives the impression of instability and discord.
Ironically, It seems much of the reason Trump dislikes SNL’s skewering of his administration is that he feels the show’s depictions make his staff appear “weak.”
The Washington Post reports today:
“Aides said they strive to avoid appearing “weak” or “low energy” — two of Trump’s least favorite attributes.”
“Staffers buzz privately about who is up and who is down, with many eagerly gossiping about which poor colleague gets an unflattering portrayal on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.”
“For the past two weeks, it has been White House press secretary Sean Spicer. But aides said Trump was especially upset by a sketch that cast White House chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon as the Grim Reaper manipulating the president — who was ultimately relegated to a miniature desk, playing dolefully with an expandable toy.“
Yes, as hilariously cutting as Melissa McCarthy’s Sean Spicer impression has been, it seems Trump might be even more irate about the depiction of Steve Bannon as the Grim Reaper.
Which really doesn’t make much sense …
Trump is concerned about his staff looking week, but his top adviser has obtained so much power since the inauguration that the Internet has taken to referring to him as President Bannon.
Not only that, Bannon is a man who equates evil with power:
“Darkness is good,” the man actually told The Hollywood Reporter in a November interview. “Dick Cheney, Darth Vader, Satan. That’s power.”
Also, he appeared on the cover of Time magazine looking like this:
At first, we were in favor of SNL changing tactics and going with Rosie O’Donnell as Bannon, because we figured it would piss that sickly Nazi off even more.
But now that we know how much Trump hates the reaper, we encourage SNL to not fear that approach.
Also, more cowbell…
