Donald Trump’s insurgent campaign will likely go down in history as one of the United States’ darker moments. Yet rather than simply sweeping him under the rug before the rest of the world could catch wind of his fuming racist drivel, the media has apparently developed a morbid fascination with his jerky hand movements, constipated facial expressions, and schoolyard bully attitude. Indeed, the only thing more painful than watching the man stumble his way through policy arguments is seeing him have the chance to play the reasonable politician on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, or the self-conscious funnyman on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Well, now it seems the media’s free publicity train has gone a stop too far, because Trump has been tapped to host an upcoming episode of Saturday Night Live. To be clear, we’re not talking about a 10-minute interview, or a brief breaking headline about his campaign, we’re talking about 93 minutes of smiling, waving, and making jokes on one of America’s biggest stages. So who better to call out NBC and SNL Executive Producer Lorne Michaels for their opportunistic and ethically dubious choice than Chi-Rican Congressman and inveterate defender of Latino rights Luis Gutiérrez?
Just yesterday, Gutiérrez took to the house floor in front of a sign reading #RacismIsntFunny and took five minutes to ask SNL, NBC, and the entire U.S. media complex where they draw the line on inciting hatred. Praising NBC and other corporate entities for promptly severing business ties with the red-faced blowhard when he first announced his detestable campaign earlier this year, Gutiérrez put the gravity of this situation in context when he asked: “If Donald Trump had said gays and lesbians were murdering and raping Americans, would he get to host the show? It is every bit as much of a fiction and a lie…But what if he said black people were murderers, rapists and drug-dealers, would you still pitch skits with Donald Trump in some light-hearted banter?” He went on to lambast the show for its lack of Latino talent. “What if all of the Latino cast members all walked off the job? Oh wait, you don’t have any Latino cast members currently.” ? ?
Gutiérrez also sent a letter to Lorne Michaels and the CEOs of Comcast and NBC Universal laying out these same ideas and asking them unequivocally to “dump Trump” from the show. Whether they follow through on what would certainly cost them a ratings bonanza is ultimately up to them and their consciences, but thank heavens there’s someone out there with the gall to call Trump exactly what he is: a dangerous man stoking the flames of hatred across the country.