Live from New York! It\u2019s time to bash Republicans on Saturday Night!<\/p>\n
A whopping 91% of jokes delivered on \u201cSaturday Night Live\u2019s\u201d Weekend Update segment this season targeted conservatives, while 82% of characters during the show\u2019s cold opens mocked President Donald Trump or fellow Republicans,\u00a0according to a new analysis by Media Research Center\u2019s NewsBusters.<\/p>\n
The media watchdog examined SNL\u2019s first 19 shows this season through May 9 and found a one-way political firing squad.<\/p>\n
A whopping 91% of jokes delivered on \u201cSaturday Night Live\u2019s\u201d Weekend Update segment this season targeted conservatives, while 82% of characters during the show\u2019s cold opens mocked President Donald Trump or fellow Republicans, according to a new analysis by Media Research Center\u2019s NewsBusters. Lloyd Bishop\/NBC<\/p>\n
Of the 226 political jokes delivered by Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che, 205 targeted conservatives, only 18 slammed Dems and other liberals, and three were non-partisan.<\/p>\n
During cold opens, actors playing Republicans\u00a0and conservatives appeared 49 times, lefty characters only 10 times, and one nonpartisan character was featured.<\/p>\n
The analysis \u2014 exclusively provided to The Post \u2014 did not include the finale of SNL\u2019s 51st season, which airs tonight.<\/p>\n
Dumping on Trump \u2014 who hosted the show twice before being elected president \u2014 was the primary focus this year for NBC\u2019s long-running, live-sketch comedy. And ratings are up thanks to the Trump bump.<\/p>\n
The president accounted for 101 \u2013 or nearly half \u2013 of Weekend Update jokes, NewsBusters found. <\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Trump dismissed weapons fire between the US and Iran as a \u2018love tap,’\u201d Che joked during the May 9 segment. \u201cHe also called gas prices gentle sodomy.\u201d<\/p>\n
And heading into the finale, Trump\u2019s character \u2014 typically played by James Austin Johnson \u2014 had already made a dozen appearances this season during cold opens.<\/p>\n
During cold opens, actors playing Republicans and conservatives appeared 49 times, lefty characters only 10 times, and one nonpartisan character was featured. NBC \/ SNL<\/p>\n
During its April 4 broadcast, SNL notoriously mused about the possibility of Trump being assassinated.<\/a><\/p>\n Che sickly crowbarred the \u201cjoke\u201d into a bit about the president attending a performance at the recently renamed Trump Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n \u201cPresident Trump attended the opening night of \u2018Chicago\u2019 at the Kennedy Center, and I think that\u2019s cool that the president is going to the theater. I mean, what\u2019s the worst that could happen?\u201d said Che, referring to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.<\/p>\n Che then flashed a grin as the audience responded with an over-the-top guffaw.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018Saturday Night Live\u2019 hasn\u2019t been a good television show since President Trump hosted it\u201d in 2015, White House spokesman Davis Ingle fired back<\/a> two days later.<\/p>\n Trump faced two assassination attempts during the 2024 campaign and survived another attempt April 25 \u2013 three weeks after Che\u2019s bit \u2013 during the White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner.<\/p>\n The president accounted for 101 \u2013 or nearly half \u2013 of Weekend Update jokes, NewsBusters found.<\/p>\n US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth\u2019s character finished second in cold-open appearances with nine, followed by ex-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt\u2019s characters, with four each.<\/p>\n US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was second behind Trump as the target of Weekend Update jokes, receiving 14. He was followed by Noem (12), conservative pundit Tucker Carlson (11) and Long Island\u2019s lying ex-Rep. George Santos (10).<\/p>\n In comparison, socialist NYC Mayor Mamdani \u2014 whose off-the wall socialist schemes could provide years of comic material \u2014 has so far been targeted just once by Weekend Update.<\/p>\n And his character has only been featured in one cold-open segment: when comedian Ramy Youssef played Mamdani in a November sketch about a NYC mayoral debate.<\/p>\n \u201cI know some of you out there are scared about the idea of a young Muslim socialist mayor, so allow me to put you at ease by smiling after every answer in a way that physically hurts my face,\u201d said Youssef, who drew laughs by mocking Hizzoner\u2019s signature grin.<\/p>\n Mamdani posted clips<\/a> and video of himself laughing with Youssef about the uncanny resemblance on a FaceTime call while the comic was still in costume.<\/p>\n The group\u2019s findings showing late night television is more lefty than ever\u00a0shouldn\u2019t be a surprise.<\/a><\/p>\n