Donald Trump, GOP candidate and Penn Alumi, hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live November 7th. Courtesy of Creative Commons | Gage Skidmore
Saturday Night Live cast member Vanessa Bayer won’t be the only Penn alum on stage when the show broadcasts on Nov. 7. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump is set to host SNL exactly one year and one day before the 2016 election, the show announced on Tuesday.
“It was just announced that I will be hosting Saturday Night Live on Nov. 7 — look forward to it!” Trump tweeted following the big news.
Trump’s hosting follows a guest appearance by Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton on the show’s Oct. 3 season premiere. In a skit, she played a bartender named Val who strikes up conversation with a Hillary Clinton portrayed by cast member Kate McKinnon.
In that same episode, the opening skit featured a message from Trump and his wife Melania, played by cast members Taran Killam and Cecily Strong. At one point, Melania says she is not as smart as her husband — she did not graduate from the “Hogwarts School of Business” like he did.
Trump responded to the episode by tweeting “@TaranKillam plays a way better fake @realDonaldTrump than a real @HillaryClinton plays herself.”
SNL has been seen as an influential factor in US elections over its 41 seasons— especially since the 2008 election. During that election, Barack Obama, John McCain, Sarah Palin and Clinton all appeared on the show, hoping for good publicity.
Trump previously hosted SNL in 2004 to promote the first season of his NBC reality show “The Apprentice.” Since then, he’s also been the butt of countless jokes on the show.
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