Did ‘SNL’ Quietly Shelve Its Trump Impression?
If you are among the more-than-half of Americans not paying much attention to Trump’s hush money trial, two pieces of news may still have managed to make their way to you: that Trump appears to be farting quite frequently, and he also seems to be falling asleep in the courtroom.
What could be funnier? Everyone loves a good fart joke. But if you tuned into Saturday Night Live this past week, their flatulence-themed sketch wasn’t James Austin Johnson’s Trump offering his characteristic word-salad over increasingly loud fart noises. Instead, it was host Maya Rudolph as a throw-back Hollywood starlet trying to sell decaf coffee while pretending she’s not stinking up the room.
In fact, Johnson’s Trump impression has not been seen since March. This absence comes during a particularly historic eight weeks, including the unofficial launch of the first election rematch of two presidents since 1892 and the start of the first criminal trial of an American president since ever. Yet instead of capitalizing on this historic moment, SNL has relegated Trump to somewhat perfunctory jokes in Weekend Update.