Saturday Night Live is leaning heavily into politics in Season 46, running six straight episodes on consecutive weeks around the November 3 election. Every cold open the show has had this year has featured politics in some way, and on Saturday the show also ran an ad that imagined what America looks like if Donald Trump isn’t in office anymore.
The ad is a narrative done by various members of the SNL cast, playing concerned voters discussing the election between Trump and Joe Biden.
“Everyone knows this could be the most important election in our nation’s history. And the two choices couldn’t be more different,” the cast said. “Do we want four more years of Donald Trump? Or a fresh start with Joe Biden?”
The commercial asks if America can “survive” another four years of Trump, but then the tenor of the commercial changes.
“Because if Donald Trump isn’t president, then what are we going to talk about?” the cast members ask.
The commercial frames the election as an important decision, but also a question of whether it’s worth getting rid of Trump despite some of the funny things he’s done and said over the last four years. Some say their entire personality is “hating” Trump, and wonder what will happen to them if he leaves office.
The conclusion, however, is that Trump will only say more wild and inflammatory things once he leaves office.
“Even if Trump loses, he isn’t going away,” Kenan Thompson says. Which is probably true, though it might not be an ad that actually makes anyone feel any better in the end.