Donald Trump Twitter campaign #RacismIsntFunny urges SNL to drop host
As the scheduled Donald Trump-hosted episode of Saturday Night Live gets closer and closer, outrage is mounting online. The hashtag #RacismIsntFunny, and the petition website of the same name, started trending on Thursday in angered response to Trump hosting SNL.
The hashtag is in reference to racially insensitive remarks that Trump made in June while announcing his run for the presidency, and calls on SNL and NBC to not legitimitize these remarks by giving Tump the coveted position as SNL host. The movement comes in conjunction with a letter from the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, which decries both SNL and NBC for allowing Trump to host, which they write “will legitimize and validate his anti-Latino comments.” The letter goes on to say, “We are appalled that you would enable Trump’s hateful speech for nothing less than a ratings ploy and ask that you rescind the SNL invitation.”
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This wouldn’t be the first time Trump has hosted the show. The real estate mogul helmed SNL back in 2004 back when he was only just becoming famous from The Apprentice. His appearance was inoffensive then, but now that he’s been in the public eye much more and has made his political beliefs perfectly clear, it will be pretty much impossible for Trump to get through an hour and a half of sketch comedy in 2015 without ruffling some feathers.
The decision to let Trump host isn’t just angering those who see him as racist, but also those who believe that an active presidential candidate shouldn’t be allowed the huge advantage the comes with being a Saturday Night Live host. The position is a surefire way to appear more down-to-earth and likeable to the American public. While political candidates have appeared on the show innumerable times in the past — Trump’s opponent Hillary Clinton came on the show just this month — the Trump-hosted show would mark the first time an active presidential candidate has actually hosted an episode since Al Sharpton in 2003.
The controversial episode will air on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 11:30 p.m. ET.
