Video of the Day: ‘SNL’ Political Ad Parody Highlights Racism of Trump Supporters

Saturday Night Live aired a mock political advertisement of Donald Trump voters on Saturday that will give you that one-of-a-kind feeling of wanting to laugh, cry, and vomit all at once. 

The “Voters for Trump” Ad features several seemingly average white cast members making stock “this is why I’m voting for my candidate” statements, before revealing symbols that just about everyone can agree are racist, including a Nazi band, Ku Klux Klan hood, and “White Power” graffiti. The skit is short, sweet, and as Sameer Rao at Colorlines notes, “a reminder of what so many Trump supporters imply when they talk about his supposed values and refreshing perspectives.”

But as Rao also points out, the sketch does nothing to acknowledge the show’s own part in both tacitly promoting Trump (by having him host last fall) and ignoring its own diversity issues. The focus on the bigotry of Trump supporters—while undeniably true—also reeks of liberal Democrats pointing at “racist Republicans” while like the show, doing nothing to acknowledge their own part in promoting anti-Brown and Black violence and ignoring their own more sophisticated (i.e. not as blatant as a KKK hood) racism and sexism.