For the better part of the last four years, one thing you could count on week after week is the writers of SNL relying heavily on President Donald Trump for their material. This week was no different. During the Season 46 premiere “Weekend Update” segment, hosts Colin Jost and Michael Che immediately jumped at the opportunity to mock the president for contracting the potentially deadly virus.
“Say what you will about 2020, but it’s got moves,” Jost began. “This news was a lot for us to process a day before we came back on the air after four months off — and it all happened so fast. I woke up yesterday and heard the president had mild symptoms, and then, four hours later, he was getting medevaced to a hospital in what looked like the last chopper out of Vietnam.” He then added, “I’ve got to say, it’s a bad sign for America that when Trump said he tested positive for a virus, 60% of people were like ‘Prove it.’”
Jost also said that it’s been “weird” to see so many of Trump’s opponents and critics publicly wish him well. “I think a lot of them are just guilty that their first wish came true.”
Che chimed in with his own take on Trump’s illness. “Alright, look, this is weird because a lot of people on both sides are saying there’s nothing funny about Trump being hospitalized with coronavirus, even though he mocked the safety precautions for the coronavirus, and those people are obviously wrong,” he joked. “There’s a lot funny about this. Maybe not from a moral standpoint, but mathematically, if you were constructing the joke, this is all the ingredients you need. The problem is, it’s almost too funny. It’s so on-the-nose. It’d be like if I was making fun of people wearing belts and then my pants just immediately fell down.”
“Weekend Update” wasn’t the only spot on the show to throw punches at the president. Host Chris Rock made light of the situation in his opening monologue. “Before we even get started, let’s say the elephant in the room. President Trump’s in the hospital from COVID, and I just want to say my heart goes out to COVID.”
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