Trump’s SNL appearance results in the show’s highest ratings in years

SNL gave Donald Trump only roughly 12 minutes of airtime (possibly in recognition of the “equal opportunity” time rule that would require NBC to give free time to the other candidates as well.) But he spent that time on an opening monologue, his own rendition of Drake’s “Hotline Bling” video, and was the recipient of a few major barbs on the “Weekend Update” sketch.

The group said that it would pay $5,000 to a studio audience member at the live show who shouted out either “Deport Trump” or “Trump is a racist”.

“It’s Larry David”, Trump, acting exasperated, announced.

Saturday Night Live can always be counted on for always being on top of it regarding pop culture.

Trump told CNN on Sunday that he vetoed a few of the more risqué skits and, earlier in the week, told Fox News it was because he didn’t want to alienate voters in Iowa, home of the first event in the 2016 presidential nominating contest.

“After the show, they tweeted, “#LarryDavid wins the $5,000 “bounty” from DeportRacism.com for calling Trump a Racist on #SNL.

Donald Trump proved yet again that he’s ratings gold, this time helping “Saturday Night Live” to its biggest overnight ratings since 2012, according to NBC figures.

Another highlight of Trump’s monologue included current Trump impersonator Taran Killam and Darrell Hammond, who used to impersonate Trump, joined the real life billionaire on stage. So when he got the call from the network to do an SNL show, Trump agreed.

Trump’s SNL appearance was both a critical and commercial hit; according to Variety, the episode delivered the best ratings for the program in almost four years.

After the segment aired, the group tweeted that it would give the $5,000 reward to David.

“Having a politician in the midst of an active presidential campaign was always a dismal idea for ‘Saturday Night Live, ‘ particularly a candidate with as much negative baggage as Donald Trump”, wrote The Hollywood Reporter’s TV critic Daniel Fienberg.