Trump’s Latest Lawsuit Names ‘SNL’
In a better world, the President of the United States wouldn’t have a legion of personal attorneys to sue the media whenever they damaged the fragile egos of the most powerful people on the planet. But we don’t live in that better world, we live in this very shitty one. President Donald Trump and his lawyers filed a lawsuit against The New York Times on September 15th, accusing the paper of defamation and being a “mouthpiece” for the Democratic Party.
None of this is funny or has much to do with the comedy world on its face, but thanks to the eagle eyes over at LateNighter, we do know that Trump’s latest legal attack does mention Saturday Night Live. Luckily for NBC, it’s not because Trump is suing the show for making fun of him and impersonating him for the better part of the last nine years.
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Instead, the reference to SNL comes because it was listed as part of Trump’s “hundreds of history-making media appearances and roles.” In what has to be at least a little bit embarrassing for SNL, Trump is using his 2015 hosting appearance on the show as evidence of his impact, legitimate sources of wealth and cultural importance in his suit against the Times.
Even with all the barbs that SNL has since lobbed at Trump, there’s still no living down his 2015 hosting gig. At the time, Lorne Michaels was criticized for allowing Trump to be on the show ahead of the 2016 election. Former cast member Taran Killam said back in 2017 that having Trump on the show was “not enjoyable at the time and something that only grows more embarrassing and shameful as time goes on.”
That seems to be even more true in 2025, as Trump uses his SNL performance as part of a spurious lawsuit against more media critics. The president is trying to kneecap one of the largest newspapers in the U.S. with a $15 billion lawsuit, and in the 85-page lawsuit, he used his SNL episode as a case for his popularity and his success — to counter extensive reporting from the NYT about his illegal money-making schemes.
But don’t worry. SNL isn’t the most embarrassing mention in the lawsuit. As usual, the most humiliating part of a Trump story is Trump himself. While “Saturday Night Live” is only mentioned once, the president’s lawsuit references “success” 49 times.
What are you trying to prove, Donald?
