If you’ve even watched the long-running comedy show Saturday Night Live, then you know that they’ve taken a few digs at President Trump and in typical Trump fashion, he’s not liking it.
In fact, he has hinted that federal regulators should take a closer look at the show for mocking him but not Democrats.
Writing on Twitter, Trump said: “It’s truly incredible that shows like Saturday Night Live, not funny/no talent, can spend all of their time knocking the same person (me), over & over, without so much of a mention of ‘the other side.’ Like an advertisement without consequences. Same with Late Night Shows.”
He also added: “Should Federal Election Commission and/or FCC look into this? There must be Collusion with the Democrats and, of course, Russia! Such one sided media coverage, most of it Fake News. Hard to believe I won and am winning. Approval Rating 52%, 93% with Republicans. Sorry! #MAGA”
Currently, the show is featuring re-runs with new episodes starting on March 30. However, the latest repeat featured a parody of “It’s a Wonderful Life” that imagined Trump’s life if he had never been elected president.
Trump has been a frequent punching bag for the show with actor Alec Baldwin hilariously portraying the president as a bumbling and incompetent commander-in-chief.
However, Trump is not necessarily a special case because the show has lampooned other presidents as well.
Still, it was enough for Trump to wonder if the Federal Election Commission or the Federal Communications Commission should step into the picture.
The FEC investigates improper campaign contributions while the FCC started the fairness doctrine which requires news to give equal time to both sides. But the regulation was stopped in 1987 and isn’t even in the books anymore. Furthermore, when the FCC used it as a method of distributing TV and radio licenses, it turned out it did not apply to elected officials.
And since Saturday Night Live is a comedy show, free speech applies in protecting it satire.
Even Hillary Clinton wasn’t spared when Kate McKinnon portrayed the former presidential candidate at the height of the 2016 campaign.
Trump has long complained about his treatment in the media and tends to declare stories and items he doesn’t like as “fake news.”
And this isn’t the first time he’s threatened Saturday Night Live either.
Last month the commander-in-chief hinted that his government should carefully look at comedic “hit jobs” against Republicans.
“Nothing funny about tired Saturday Night Live on Fake News NBC!” he railed during a Sunday morning tweet on February 17. “Question is, how do the Networks get away with these total Republican hit jobs without retribution? Likewise for many other shows? Very unfair and should be looked into. This is the real Collusion!”
For the past two years, Trump has been battling claims that his 2016 campaign worked in collusion with Kremlin agents to influence the results of the presidential election.
Trump capitalized on the concept of a hopelessly biased political press corps to buoy his first candidacy, a tactic he will likely bank on again in his 2020 campaign.