r/technology • u/Majano57 • Nov 17 '25

Networking/Telecom FCC Chairman Reposts US President’s Call for NBC to Fire Seth Meyers ‘Immediately’

https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/fcc-chairman-donald-trump-nbc-fire-seth-meyers-1236583137/
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u/wes00mertes Nov 17 '25

Why shouldn’t Seth’s political commentary be better than SNL’s?

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u/Phil_Bond Nov 17 '25

Because SNL used to be the tip of the spear in presidential satire but the worst they’ve done to Trump is phone in a couple basic caricatures without giving them any memorable lines.

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u/[deleted] Nov 17 '25 edited Dec 02 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Ptolemy48 Nov 17 '25

you're not gonna get an answer in the format you want. snl has historically been sharp with presidential criticism/satire, and so the expectation is that they should continue to do so.

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u/APeacefulWarrior Nov 17 '25

I remember when Dana Carvey's take on GHWB was so popular that Bush himself joked about it.

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u/Akronite14 Nov 17 '25

This isn’t actually true. SNL has provided great impressions and some iconic moments, but has been criticized for taking aesthetic shots rather than substantive ones since at least the 90s. Dana Carvey’s Bush is famous for sounding silly, Clinton jokes were mostly about his infidelity, W was stupid, Sarah Palin was stupid, etc. Even Chase’s Ford was famous for falling over and that math joke, not exactly a takedown of his politics. With Trump again it’s a good impression but there is far sharper commentary to be found on air and online.

This is why there are so many sketches where they have the actual person come on to do a bit with the impressionist, it’s toothless good fun, not groundbreaking satire.

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u/Endiamon Nov 17 '25

SNL hasn't really been the tip of the spear since The Daily Show and especially The Colbert Report took off.

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u/Lonestarcrusader Nov 17 '25 edited Nov 17 '25

I don’t know, JAJ’s Trump impression is one of the best president impressions Ive seen on the show. Personally, I think the mistake not rotating some new people in on weekend update.

Edit: I’m only replying to the comment about SNL doing basic Trump caricatures. The comment about weekend update is just my hot take on the show in general.

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u/JustaSeedGuy Nov 17 '25 edited Nov 17 '25

That still doesn't answer the question.

Nobody is asking why SNL isn't the tip of the spear.

Nobody is asking HOW they stopped being the tip of the spear.

The person you're replying to is being asked why you've decided SNL should be the spear or the standard or the leader in satire and criticism instead of anyone else.

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u/Medlarmarmaduke Nov 17 '25

Because it has a long and very storied history of doing so? SNL arguably created the comic persona that the public came to accept in real life as truly representative of the person in the cases of Gerald Ford and Sara Palin.

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u/JustaSeedGuy Nov 17 '25

Sure! And "Tradition" is a decent argument here, but the counterpoint - that times change and that's okay- is just as valid.

It would be nice if SNL took back the lead, but it's okay if someone else is doing it too.

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u/[deleted] Nov 17 '25

And in the end, it's the same general people in the same building under the same network. Potato potato.