'Saturday Night Live' Rumors: SNL Affects Presidential Elections

Saturday Night Live (SNL) has been making fun of politicians for quite a few years. But what you may not know is just how much SNL may affect presidential elections.

One of the more notable examples of SNL's effect on politics came during the 2000 presidential race between Al Gore and George W. Bush. It was a hotly contested election, with the final tally being within just a few inches of each other. According to Will Ferrell, the actor who played Bush during sketches in that time, said "he believed the popularity of him playing Bush on the sketch show humanized the real George W. to the country. He implied that this may have influenced voters to choose Bush in the 2000 election - in which Bush won over Vice President Al Gore by only a few hundred votes - and his re-election in 2004."

Perhaps it affect the election, perhaps not. However, Bush and Gore aren't the only politicians that SNL has had an effect on. Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska, had hopes of becoming a U.S. Vice President. "Tina Fey's portrayal of the former Alaska governor truly soured people on Palin (especially when they realized that SNL didn't change her real responses when parodying her Katie Couric interview)." So clearly, Saturday Night Live has some power in politics. Satire is quite a potent force, and entertainment has a great impact on how people think about world events.

So it's no wonder that several prominent politicians have shown up on SNL since. Both Barack Obama and John McCain were on the show during the 2008 election. Multiple 2016 presidential wannabe's from both sides have shown up this year during various skits, with the most recent being Donald Trump's hosting of SNL this past weekend. According to Lauren Feldman, a researcher at American University, "Appearances on late-night comedy programs have become an essential part of campaign strategy and, increasingly, political strategy more generally."

I'm curious to see what happens to poll numbers after Trump's showing on SNL. Will there be a change? Will those polled provide the reason for their vote? Tell us what you think about SNL and this election in the comments section below!