Saturday Night Live Returns to Skewer Politics As Only They Can Do — Whether You Like It or Not

NBC’s Saturday Night Live returned to the air this past weekend for its milestone 50th season—during a presidential election year, no less. As it always is during a presidential election year, the microscope lenses were cleaned and adjusted, the knives were sharpened, and the hot takes were preheated.

No matter your opinion of SNL , there is one thing that can’t be argued: people watch it and people watch it to see what it says about current events. For better or for worse, SNL has the freedom to be a unique kind of platform to comment on politics and the news. It doesn’t have to be objective; it doesn’t have to give equal time. But if it wants to be truly funny and effective, it does have to be honest.

That’s what has always made SNL ‘s political commentary work (when it does work) — when it’s shining a different kind of light on the truth. That’s not the same as having an agenda; this weekend’s season premiere was a perfect example.

Plenty of people may argue that Hollywood is in the tank for Vice President Kamala Harris or any Democratic candidate. And while that’s probably 95 percent true, that doesn’t give a popular “Hollywood” comedy show a free pass, and SNL is well aware of that. So while many people involved in the show’s production might support Harris and her policies, that doesn’t mean she’s shielded from criticism. At the same time, that also doesn’t mean that they can’t let her have some fun.

Maya Rudolph’s Kamala Harris is fun. She’s the funt — the fun aunt! And the joy that has come out of the Harris campaign is palpable, as evidenced by the bounce in the polls Harris received after President Joe Biden left the race in July.

But is this a campaign that’s purely vibes-driven? As Rudolph’s Harris put it, comparing her campaign to Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso”: “The lyrics are vague, but the vibe slaps.” Some have said that Harris needs to be more specific on policy, and it’s SNL ‘s job to put the spotlight on what others are noticing.

For those familiar with comedy training, this is called “yes and” — when you have even the tiniest little idea or prompt (let’s call it a “concept of a prompt”), you elevate it, amplify it, exaggerate it, add to it. And if you have a culturally relevant way to describe it, that’s how you reach more people with it. Politicians pander while they’re campaigning — politicians on SNL pander explicitly, loudly, and clearly. (“Viewers from New York and California please close your ears — I have a gun. A cool one. — All right, come on back, New York and California!”)

It’s such a fun impression because it’s driven by truth, not an urge to mock. The same goes for Andy Samberg’s “wife guy” Doug Emhoff (who will “smack the taste outcha, nephew” if you cross his wife) and Jim Gaffigan’s “Big Dad Energy” huggy monster Gov. Tim Walz . Anyone who volunteers for the public eye is going to have their quirks pointed out to them, big and small.

This certainly applies to sitting Presidents of the United States, who, at their very essence, are subject to public scrutiny and mockery, something on which our entire country was founded. SNL’s presidential impressions are stuff of comedy legend, going back to Chevy Chase’s klutzy Gerald Ford . Ford tripped up one flight of plane stairs and he was never seen as anatomically stable again, thanks to SNL .

And while she never reached the White House, Tina Fey’s impression of 2008 Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin demolished her as the late Sen. John McCain’s running mate when they used the former Alaska governor’s very own words against her. (McCain, who proved he had maybe the best sense of humor in politics, actually hosted SNL the weekend before the 2008 election alongside Fey as Palin. He knew what the story was. He knew that ship was going down. He went ahead and grabbed a fiddle as his own personal Titanic sunk, and he should forever be remembered for that.)

Which leads us to Dana Carvey’s impression of Biden. Carvey is a notorious impressionist. He is so highly regarded because he zeroes in on such specific parts of people and multiplies them by one million. But he doesn’t use anything that isn’t already there. His impressions, including and especially his Biden, come from a place of truth, not mockery. SNL doesn’t want to attack anyone, but they do want to show their audience who they are.

Carvey has always done that, and his Biden was perfect. The halting walk, the folksy rambling, the repeated phrases — it’s what we’ve all observed for the past year, and, perhaps upsettingly, not actually all that amplified. (Though I kinda predict that Biden, who regularly makes self-aware jokes about his age, will work “By the way, guess what?” into his next public engagement.)

All of this applies to cast member James Austin Johnson’s version of former President Donald Trump . SNL ‘s executive producer, Lorne Michaels, recently said that Johnson’s impression will shift slightly after everything we’ve seen since last season. Michaels told The Hollywood Reporter : “[W]e are going to have to reinvent it again because, well, you saw the debate. One of the great parts of show business is that you can’t come back with the same show. So, all of these characters have to be reexamined, and if it makes sense and feels relevant, you know you’re on the right track.”

Johnson’s Trump on Saturday was portrayed as rambling and unfiltered, spewing stream-of-consciousness words that have actually come out of the real Trump’s mouth, and reflecting the longing-slash-desperation that he was still running against Biden and not Harris. Trump was also not safe from commentary on Weekend Update — Colin Jost was able to squeeze in a joke about Trump’s claim that Harris was “mentally impaired.” The comment was made at a rally two hours before the live Update segment . It’s a sign that the cast and crew of SNL are paying attention and not in the business of doing anything stale.

It might seem as if SNL has been harsher on Trump, but I’ll remind you that while he was a presidential candidate in 2015, he hosted the show. The cast was not on board with the idea, and former cast member Taran Killam (who played Trump) described the experience to NPR as “not enjoyable at the time and something that only grows more embarrassing and shameful as time goes on.” But he also added: “I don’t think the intention of having him on was ever politically based. I sincerely believe that. But I don’t think it was considered — the implications that it had then and could have moving forward. And I think looking back … there’s nothing good I can take from that week.”

The most important thing Killam said about Trump, however, was that he simply wasn’t in on the joke: “[H]e’s not an enjoyable person to be around — he’s from a different class; he’s from a different way of life. There was never any common ground.” This has nothing to do with politics, nor does it have to do with being fair to both sides. Showrunner Michaels, according to Killam, wants to appeal to the broadest possible audience. That means turning the microscope on everyone . Trump just wasn’t game for it. That said, I’d have to think that he has an open invite to the show any time. (It would be extremely smart if Harris showed up, as Barack Obama , Hillary Clinton , and McCain all did. To be fair, Palin did too, though she seemed less than enthused .)

If Johnson’s Trump impression is less fun than Rudolph’s Harris, it’s because the 45th president is simply not having fun anymore. He’s happiest when he gets to speak for two hours at a podium and say whatever he wants without anyone controlling him or pushing back. But he should realize that what he says is heard by more than just his adoring followers. (And what he says is insane .)

Saturday Night Live has always been hit or miss, even during its iconic early seasons of the late 1970s. For every classic sketch that people can quote line by line or that ends up on a “best of” compilation, there were five sketches that no one ever remembered. And SNL will still have bad sketches. This week’s episode had tepid sketches, but the great parts were really great. As far as politics go, there is a ton of opportunity and material provided by the 24/7 news cycle and social media that won’t let any political candidate slide.

This weekend proved that SNL was watching all of it.