United States President Donald Trump has called for “retribution” against long-running comedy show Saturday Night Live for an unflattering portrayal of him in its weekend airing.
Comedian Alec Baldwin reprised his impersonation of Trump in SNL, donning a big, blond wig, crunching up his face into a pout and speaking in singsong fashion as he talked about the potential consequences of his decision to declare a national emergency so he could build his pet project, the border wall.
“I’ll immediately be sued and the ruling will not go in my favor and then it will end up in the Supreme Court and then I’ll call my buddy Kavanaugh and I’ll say ‘It’s time to repay the Donny’ and he’ll say, ‘New phone, who dis?’ And by then the Mueller report will be released, crumbling my house of cards and I can plead insanity and do a few months in the puzzle factory and my personal hell of playing president will finally be over,” Baldwin said in a mock Rose Garden address.
“Nothing funny about tired Saturday Night Live on Fake News NBC!” Trump tweeted. “Question is, how do the Networks get away with these total Republican hit jobs without retribution?Likewise for many other shows? Very unfair and should be looked into. This is the real Collusion!”
The US leader is known to be sensitive about how he is portrayed in the media and is quick to react to such developments at odd hours, often ignoring conventions of spelling, capitalization – and acceptable presidential behavior.
While many say that Trump did exactly what Baldwin was hoping he would do, the outburst sheds light into what are truly serious and laughable in any government.
Many shows in the US are thriving because their president supplies them with actionable ideas all the time, without prompt. To be offended by such portrayals, or worse to threaten comedians with an investigation or retribution is decidedly the more laughable thing.
However, when weighed against the real-world demands of a head of state, the tendency ceases to be funny and becomes tragic.
For example, Trump’s decision to declare a national emergency to invoke authorty to unlock funds to build the wall smacks of childish petulance—just because a president has a wide discretion over the definition of such an emergency. He declared the “emergency” after Congress thumbed down a request to make $5.7 billion available to build Trump’s wall.
As of press time, 16 states led by California have sued Trump for his declaration, claiming he was unilaterally robbing taxpayers of their money.
Perhaps the consequences of this decision will not be as hilarious as those enumerated by Baldwin, but they will be disastrous, nonetheless.
Nothing funny indeed about a leader who lashes out at his critics, even those who voice dissent through creative means, instead of genuinely obtaining the pulse of the people and acting in their best interests—not out of the interests of his ego.
