It should be mandatory that if you are going to try and create comedy bits based off current events happening in the news, you have to actually, you know, watch the news. Doing so could potentially save writers for these programs a whole lot of embarrassment, a lesson that the folks over at the incredibly unfunny “Saturday Night Live” have now learned the hard way. For like the thousandth time.
You know, when I was young, SNL was hilarious. Some of the most legendary comedians in the world were part of its cast. You had Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Steve Martin, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, David Spade, Eddie Murphy, all sorts of names during the period between the late 70s through the mid to late 90s. It was the best of times, it was….well, it was honestly the best of times for comedy. How I miss those days.
Back then it would have been standard fair to poke fun at dudes wearing dresses.
Anyway, in this past weekend’s episode of the program, the long-running “Weekend Update” segment, now hosted by Colin Jost, tried to make fun of former President Donald Trump, but the whole thing backfired in a big, big way.
Check out the Western Journal for details:
The joke came after a solid two-minutes hate against Trump that included comparing a Manhattan jury’s verdict against him in a civil suit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll to the verdict against O.J. Simpson in a wrongful death suit. The whole thing was spectacularly not funny (though at least some of the audience pretended it was).
But it verged into simple stupidity when Jost accused Trump of making up an “interesting new term called ‘debank.’”
The clip “SNL” played is from a Trump speech Jan. 17 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where he pledged to his supporters that he would stop financial institutions from “debanking” conservatives.
“We’re also going to place strong protections to stop banks and regulators from trying to debank you,” Trump went on to say to his audience.
“They want to debank you, and we’re going to debank …,” he stated.
“I don’t know what the hell ‘debank’ means,” Jost remarked with a smug grin. “But he might have to take de-ambulance to see de-doctor.’”
Of course, the problem for Jost is that this is an actual term in the world of finance. It is defined as being a strategy used to force political opponents to tow the line by cutting off access to the financial system.
Rather than exposing the alleged idiocy of Trump, Jost only served to make himself look stupid, a feat that is rather low hanging fruit in reality.
It’s true that the term is mainly used by Republicans — because Republicans and conservatives are the victims of it — but it’s a term of politics that should be familiar to anyone who claims knowledge of current events — like, say, a host or a writer for “SNL.”
In 2021, a report by the liberal news outlet Axios used the term when it described how Republican lawmakers were infuriated that “climate czar” John Kerry had “leaned on the banks to help reduce U.S. carbon emissions.”
SNL did a segment mocking Trump for using the word de-bank:
"Trump introduced an interesting new term: de-banking. I don't know what the hell de-bank even means."
This is what happens when you live in your own echo chamber.
Not one SNL writer or audience member realized that… pic.twitter.com/oUKZjFa1SL
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) January 28, 2024
Check out some other replies from folks on X:
The left debanks while the right debunks.
— Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays) January 28, 2024
SNL continues trying to be funny by mocking former President Trump. In this bit, the SNL host acknowledges he doesn't know what "debank" is and accuses Trump of making up the term to uproarious audience laughter. They're clueless. Canadians understand.#TCNT @JonJustice #mnleg pic.twitter.com/w1pB2LLQNs
— SD42GOP (@SD42GOP) January 28, 2024
SNL mocked Trump over his use of the word 'de-bank'…
But Trump was RIGHT again, OF COURSE👇 https://t.co/NdcudwgdD5
— ❄☃❄Just me👀Cassie💎🤍💎 (@browneyegirl400) January 28, 2024
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