Donald Trump to Host ‘Saturday Night Live’
Billionaire celebrity G.O.P. presidential candidate Donald Trump will host an upcoming episode of Saturday Night Live. The show will air on November 7th, and it will feature a musical guest who, like Trump, is known for her hair: Sia.
Trump last hosted the program in 2004, around the time The Apprentice took off. But even before that, he’s been a longstanding presence on the show. Dating back to the late Eighties, cast members, including Phil Hartman, Darrell Hammond and Jason Sudeikis, have all performed Trump impersonations. (Current cast member Taran Killiam recently debuted his devastating take on the Donald during SNL‘s recent season premiere.)
When he hits the stage next month, the billionaire will be the second actively campaigning presidential candidate to appear on the show’s current season. Hillary Rodham Clinton made a cameo on the season premiere, playing a bartender named Val who was serving “Hillary Clinton,” as played by Kate McKinnon. In the sketch, the impostor Hillary teased the real candidate by proclaiming how much earlier in life she wished she’d supported marriage equality. While on the show, she also introduced host and musical guest Miley Cyrus’ first performance of the evening.
Saturday Night Live airs on NBC, a channel that previously pledged to ban the Republican candidate after he called undocumented immigrant Mexicans “rapists.” The channel also welcomed Trump on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’s September 11th episode, in which the candidate interviewed “himself.” The channel previously replaced Trump as host of Celebrity Apprentice, welcoming Arnold Schwarzenegger behind the desk, and refused to air the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants, which Trump produces.
“Due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants, NBCUniversal is ending its business relationship with Mr. Trump,” a statement from the channel said in June. “At NBC, respect and dignity for all people are cornerstones of our values.”