Politics have been satirized on late night shows for years, however, Saturday Night Live is the reigning king of political humor. Most notably, SNL has poked fun at candidates Sarah Palin, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. Throughout the election process SNL, which is currently in its forty second season, has poked fun at not only the electoral debates themselves, but also individual candidates. As the election has dwindled from the large candidate pool of the primaries to a two person race for the Presidency, SNL has continuously provided their own comical coverage, narrowing in on the presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

Clinton and Trump have been satirized on almost every episode of SNL that has aired during the election season. Both candidates have hosted the show, Trump being the first ever person to host while running for the office, according to Rolling Stone. As the season has progressed, the election has as well – bringing to light questionable actions of both candidates. Donald Trump in particular has been the subject of much of the media frenzy surrounding the election, with even members of his own party denouncing his actions as of late.
Hillary Clinton has been parodied on SNL for years, with Amy Pohler portraying her during her 2008 Presidential campaign, making her no stranger to the criticism. Kate McKinnon, the actress who is currently tasked with depicting the former Secretary of State, has received many accolades for her performances – transforming Clinton into a sarcastic, calculated and hilarious parody of the real woman. Clinton herself is a fan of McKinnon, even going as far to tweet her and congratulate her on her Emmy win for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Even though the Saturday Night Live version of Clinton has been slightly less critical than that of Donald Trump, they have not strayed away from criticizing her – poking fun at her attempts to be “in” with millennials, as well as her overconfidence in some debates and interviews.

Trump’s words and actions have given Saturday Night Live a multitude of new material to work with. With recent debates seeming more like sitcoms than important political discussions, as well as newly found footage of Trump proudly claiming that his celebrity status allows him to grope and kiss women without their consent, late night talk shows have been given a lot to work with. Recent episodes have only served to add more fuel to the Anti-Trump hate-fire.

SNL former cast member Darrell Hammond had been portraying “The Donald,” however, Alec Baldwin has recently taken over the role to much critical acclaim. On the other hand, Trump himself is not the biggest fan of Baldwin’s portrayal, going as far to call it a “hit job” and say that the “media is rigging the election.” As far as Trump has gone to denounce his likeness on the show, the writers of Saturday Night Live have gone to express their regret at letting him host. In a recent episode hosted by Hamilton creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda, SNL cleverly displayed their disdain with the Republican presidential candidate by making a reference to a Hamilton lyric, (“Well he never gon’ be President now,”) while standing in front of Trump’s host picture. In an article by Vanity Fair, it was released that as of this year SNL has reached record-breaking ratings, which shows that even though Trump may not like his parody, Americans sure do.