As protests grow, ‘SNL’ looks unlikely to dump Donald Trump as host

With little more than 48 hours to go until presidential candidate Donald Trump is slated to host “Saturday Night Live,” Latino advocacy groups continue to pressure NBC to cancel the appearance.

On Tuesday, a group of 67 Latino artists, academics and politicians released a strongly worded statement denouncing Trump for what they described as “hate speech” that appeals “to xenophobia, sexism and political intolerance.” The letter, signed by the likes of Oscar-winning director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu, actors Diego Luna and Demian Bichir and author Junot Diaz, also criticized Trump for his treatment of journalists Megyn Kelly and Jorge Ramos.

The outcry grew louder on Wednesday, when protesters from a coalition of advocacy groups gathered outside 30 Rockefeller Plaza, home of NBC’s operations in Manhattan and “Saturday Night Live’s” studios. The so-called “Dump Trump” rally included members of pro-immigration reform and Latino advocacy groups including the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, the National Hispanic Media Coalition, America’s Voice and the National Council on La Raza.

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The coalition also delivered a petition with over 500,000 signatures to NBCUniversal Chief Executive Stephen Burke and “SNL” executive producer Lorne Michaels urging cancellation of Trump’s appearance.

NBC had no comment on the matter.

The protest has reached the halls of power in Washington, D.C., where the Congressional Hispanic Caucus has issued a “statement of opposition” to Trump’s appearance.

Despite the intensifying pressure, however, a reversal by NBC and “SNL” at this late stage would be virtually unprecedented. NBC has already released promotional clips featuring Trump hamming it up with cast members Cecily Strong, Michael Che and Sasheer Zamata. In one clip, Trump refers to his rival for the GOP presidential nomination, Ben Carson, as a “complete and total loser.”

For his part, Carson doesn’t seem too amused by Trump’s upcoming appearance. In an interview with Bloomberg the retired neurosurgeon implied that he considers the “SNL” gig inappropriate for a presidential candidate.

“I think the presidency of the United States is a very serious thing,” he said. “I don’t even want to begin to put it in the lightness of comedy.”

Trump has been a lightning rod for controversy since making remarks about undocumented Mexican immigrants in the speech announcing his presidential campaign in June.

1/5

“Hello, Donald.”

OK, so it doesn’t quite have the same ring to it as “Hello, Newman,” the greeting the fictional Jerry Seinfeld gave to his arch-nemesis, played by Wayne Knight, on the comedian’s popular sitcom. But Seinfeld’s verbal bout with Trump was unscripted -- and seemingly largely one-sided -- so imperfect phrasing can be forgiven.

Yet should one cross Trump, don’t expect a shrug and a handshake. Instead, Seinfeld received a rant after the comedian backed out of a charity benefit hosted by one of Trump’s sons, supposedly because of the birther issue. Seinfeld’s camp has been relatively quiet, but Trump was quoted as taking a swing at Seinfeld’s TV credits.

No, not the beloved “Seinfeld,” but instead the unscripted show “The Marriage Ref.” Said Trump, “What I do feel badly about is that I agreed to do, and did, your failed show, ‘The Marriage Ref,’ even though I thought it was absolutely terrible.”  (Getty Images / Los Angeles Times)

2/5

Trump started it at the Conservative Political Action Conference, boasting that he was “well acquainted with winning” and saying that Ron Paul has “zero chance of getting elected” president. Paul shot back that Trump’s “birther” battle showed the Donald was “desperate.”  (Getty Images / Associated Press)

3/5

The Donald doesn’t take failure well, and when, in 2006, “The Apprentice” showed signs of ratings weakness, he went after Martha Stewart. Her show, “The Apprentice: Martha Stewart,” was not highly rated, and Trump believed the spinoff dragged down his own show. He blamed her; she was upset and blamed him; then he wrote a scathing letter telling Stewart to take full responsibility for the failed show, talking about her ImClone fiasco, her daughter’s “one-word statements” and more. Later, in 2008, though the event seemed to have simmered down, Stewart said Trump’s actions were “unforgivable.”  (Getty Images / Los Angeles Times)

4/5

In 2007, Trump put his reputation -- and his hair -- on the line to start a fued with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. In a dramatized dust-up reported on by major media outlets, their storied “hair versus hair” match during Wrestlemania 23 had both men pick a pro-wrestling representative to fight for them in the ring. The loser had to shave his head. Obviously, we know who came out on top in that challenge. In addition to keeping his golden quaff, Trump made an appearance in the WWE match titled “Battle of the Billionaires” that garnered solid gold ratings.  (Getty Images / Associated Press)

5/5

In the Donald’s defense, Cher fired first. The openly Democratic “Turn Back Time” singer took to Twitter in November 2012 (on the heels of Trump hounding President Obama during his 2012 campaign) to bash clothing retailer Macy’s for carrying Trump’s line in its stores and take jabs at his famous ‘do.
“I’ll NEVER GO TO MACY’S AGAIN!” Cher tweeted. “I didn’t know they sold Donald Trump’s Line! If they don’t care that they sell products from a LOUDMOUTH.”
But Trump didn’t take the tirade sitting down, firing back about the singer’s surgical procedures.
“Cher-- I don’t wear a ‘rug’--it’s mine. And I promise not to talk about your massive plastic surgeries that didn’t work.”  (Getty Images / Los Angeles Times)

“They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people,” he said at the time. Trump has provoked further criticism with calls for the mass deportation of some 11 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally and to end to end birthright citizenship.

After Trump’s initial comments, NBC quickly moved to end its business relationship with the former host of “The Celebrity Apprentice,” announcing it would not air the Miss Universe or Miss USA pageants, which Trump owns. But Trump has since made numerous appearances on NBC programs, including “Today” and “Tonight.”

In media appearances this week, Trump has repeatedly stated what many suspect -- that he was invited to host “SNL” because he is a ratings magnet.

“The reason they put me there is one very simple reason, it’s called ratings,” he told “Today” host Savannah Guthrie on Thursday. “I get good ratings. If I didn’t get ratings, they wouldn’t put me there.”

And he made similar remarks on Wednesday to CNN’s Christopher Cuomo, who asked why NBC now seems to be burying the hatchet with Trump. “You’re never at war when you get great ratings with a network, OK?” he replied. “Nobody gets ratings like me.”

At this point, however, Trump could probably use some positive exposure: After leading the Republican pack all summer long, he is now neck and neck with Carson, according to multiple polling organizations.

Follow @MeredithBlake on Twitter.

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