Republicans are up in arms over the anniversary skit
Saturday Night Light has been tickling our funny bones for the past 50 years, and over that time, it’s never been afraid to poke fun at the world of politics. From Chevy Chase playing President Gerald Ford to Will Ferrell as George W. Bush. SNL veteran Tina Fey has played Sarah Palin and we’ve even had a hilarious exchange between Alec Baldwin and Kate McKinnon playing Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton.
With President Trump back in the White House, there’s no shortage of jokes to be had. Still, fans noticed there was a distinct lack of Baldwin pulling out his legendary impression of the POTUS during SNL‘s live anniversary.
That doesn’t mean there wasn’t some political controversy, with Tom Hanks’ ‘Make America Great Again’ skit causing quite the stir.
Tom Hanks returned as ‘Dough’ for SNL50 (NBC)
Reprising his role as MAGA supporter ‘Doug’, Hanks’ surprise SNL50: The Anniversary Special appearance on February 16 saw his character playing Darnell Hayes’s (Kenan Thompson) fictionalized “Black Jeopardy”. It’s a skit Hanks first performed back in 2016, but as the internet went into meltdown, it’s clear not everyone was glad to see Doug return to their screens.
Alongside claims that Hanks and SNL made all Trump voters look ‘racist’, there was a shocking response from Elon Musk.
The world’s richest man quoted a post that read: “Hey pedo @tomhanks.
“Not ALL #MAGA hat wearing patriots are white.
“In fact, most racism comes from the elite Democrats, you a** hole.”
Musk shared this and added two fire emojis.
We know the tech billionaire once had no love for the Republican Party and once apparently referred to Trump as ‘evil’, but in 2025, he couldn’t be more red, white, and blue if he tried.
Only recently, Musk held a press conference at the Oval Office and reiterated how he’ll make America ‘great again’ by cutting government spending. It was all done as he wore a black MAGA hat and stole the limelight from President Trump.
Many couldn’t believe that Musk had shared the post, with someone else adding: “Why are you praising someone who’s falsely accusing another person of being a ‘pedo’?
You think that’s cool?”
Another said: “It’s interesting how Trump Supporters are so outraged and offended about Tom Hanks doing a skit on SNL but they had nothing to say about Elon Musk doing a full Nazi salute?”
Someone else concluded: “I hope he sues you all.”
As for critics of the sketch in general, one vocal critic raged: “Tom Hanks went on SNL dressed like a slob mocking millions of Trump supporters…. Keep it up libs. You’ll never win another election again.”
Political commentator Link Lauren said: “This tired trope that MAGA is racist is disgusting. SNL is an unfunny show for snobbish liberal elites. The current Republican Party is a big tent coalition compromised of many former Democrats. Good riddance, SNL!”
The View‘s Joy Behar says she understood the outrage and concluded: “The fact remains that they’re making anyone who voted for Trump look like a racist, and that’s why they’re mad. I personally would never do that, because I don’t believe that any group is one thing.”
Something tells us that Hanks won’t be invited to Mar-a-Lago anytime soon.Featured Image Credit: NBC / Contributor / Getty
