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 The Republican front runner steered clear of making fun of an
immigration plan that has angered Latinos but the show's writers did
make sure he was called a "racist" during his opening monologue.
Actor Larry David stood to the side of the stage and yelled "racist"
as Trump spoke, saying he heard he would make $5,000 for doing so --
a reference to one group's offer to anyone who yelled that at Trump
during the live NBC show.
During a sketch depicting Trump's cabinet two years into his term,
Trump told his team "I don't have to get specific" about policy.
"With me, it’s just magic," he said, a reference to his
campaign-trail promises that a Trump-led United States would be so
great, Americans would "get tired of winning."
Trump's appearance made light of his campaign's tendency to
exaggerate and promise to improve the U.S. economy without offering
details, as well as his history of denigrating perceived weaknesses.
His daughter, Ivanka Trump, appeared as his interior secretary,
saying the Washington Monument was now covered in gold-mirrored
glass, a mocking reference to Trump's preference for opulence and
suggesting that Washington, D.C., is not flashy enough for his
taste.
Trump joked he was too tired to rehearse for one skit, and would
instead live-tweet. Graphics of Trump's comments then appeared on
screen as he took aim at cast members for being low-class or losers,
referencing the manner in which he has slammed rivals on the
campaign trail.
Trump's hosting gig, his second with the show, has been
controversial since NBC announced it last month for giving the
candidate the enviable exposure of one TV's most popular and
long-running shows.
The harshest criticism has come from Latino activists, who protested
outside NBC's <CMCSA.O> Manhattan studios on Saturday, saying the
network was legitimizing the Republican presidential hopeful's
"racist" views on immigration.
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The former star of NBC reality show, "The Apprentice" outraged many
in June when he described Mexican immigrants as rapists and drug
smugglers in announcing his candidacy. While making illegal
immigration a main campaign theme, Trump has also said many of his
employees are Hispanics and that they love him.
"Immigrants are not the enemy," Karina Garcia, a volunteer with
activist group The Answer Coalition who was draped with the Mexican
flag, told chanting protesters.
The show made a passing reference to the protest during its weekly
"Weekend Update" segment.
Hispanic-American groups and others say SNL's producers gave Trump a
platform to try to take the sting out of what they say are his
hateful views.
An NBC representative has said SNL would not comment on the Trump
controversy. A spokeswoman for the Republican candidate said the
campaign was not commenting either.
An estimated 53 million Hispanics make up about 17 percent of the
U.S. population and accounted for about 10 percent of the
presidential vote in 2012.
The bloc has favored Democratic candidates in greater numbers in
each election since 2004, and Republican officials have been trying
to appeal to Latino voters. Party officials have told Trump his
rhetoric is compromising their efforts.
(Additional reporting by Erin McPike and Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing
by Chris Michaud and William Hardy)
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