On SNL , the Struggle (For Power) Was Real
American politics is a battle of attrition; last night, on SNL, the (power) struggle was real.
Key points
- Americans want something different, he said, before getting to the punch line: “I’m talking, of course, about SNL ’s cold opens.”.
- All along, Jeffries and Schumer were relegated to the background, present but vacant: two power players rendered awkwardly inert.
- “It’s clear people want something new,” Talarico announced, grinning, as SNL ’s live audience whooped in approval.
Operating in another long-standing SNL tradition, Talarico made a surprise cameo, closing out the sketch by upstaging everyone else, literally and symbolically.
Power, particularly in this moment, is largely a function of attention: a matter of which politician can occupy the forefront of voters’ screens and minds.
Additional details
- There’s a fine line, however, between running joke and crutch—and it’s one that SNL has frequently crossed.
- But true change—real transformation—is more easily scripted than done.
- Week after week, sketch after sketch—as James Austin Johnson’s version of Donald Trump interrupts whatever comedy might be at play—the show’s performers have done more than merely step aside as the president storms the stage.
- Like much of what plays out on live TV, the gag works because, so often, it doesn’t quite; half the fun is watching stars such as Kenan Thompson, temporarily transformed into audience members, trying to stifle their laughter while Johnson Trumps it up.
- The sketch’s action began in expected fashion, with the Senate Democrats Hakeem Jeffries (played by Thompson) and Chuck Schumer (Sarah Sherman) celebrating, and analyzing, their party’s landslide victory.
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →
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