A full month into the United States government shutdown and the angry, confused and downright hilarious commentary continues strong.
“Saturday Night LIVE” has been no exception over the last several weeks.
The show’s latest hit skit depicts a political rendition of “Deal or No Deal” featuring the characters of Steve Harvey, President Donald Trump and Congress. Released over the weekend, the video already racked up more than half a million views.
An SNL skit that accurately represents the inner-workings of the government is funny, but even more devastating.
Lindsay Trombly | Argonaut
Boiled down to a six-minute segment, Kenan Thompson’s character, Steve Harvey, represents the way America is upset with Trump and pokes fun at his lackluster decision-making skills. Alec Baldwin plays an accurate representation of Donald Trump who won’t take “No” for an answer and is not going to give up the wall for anything.
“We were told that you want to make a deal. We decided to do this in the only format you could understand, a TV show with women holding briefcases,” Harvey says in the skit.
In a single line, the characters showcase Trump’s negativity toward women and his disdain for overly complicated issues.
The skit goes on to give Trump many different offers, yet he won’t accept anything. All Trump wants is the $5 billion for the wall. In the skit, he basically gives congress nothing in return for the full amount of money he is asking for. It’s a sobering reminder that members of Congress aren’t standing down from giving him the wall and are willing to give him everything except what he truly wants.
How can the government expect to build something so costly when the government doesn’t fully work right now?
The skit even refers to the show sponsors as “green beef,” while the Food and Drug Administration is shut down.
This shows all the aspects of the government we don’t often recognize until they no longer work.
This skit also points out the fact that people in charge in politics are acting like children. In the conversation between Nancy Pelosi and Trump, Harvey makes a great point: “This is like watching two grandparents fight over the thermostat,” Harvey says.
Speaker of the house, Pelosi said to Trump after her offer that she is not drunk in her own power. “I’m not drunk in my own power or anything … I hate saying “no” to you, Mr. Trump. You can’t be in the state of the union for security reasons. Not that I’m vindictive or anything,” Pelosi says on screen. She looks right at the camera with a sly smirk on her face.
These games take away from the largest problem at hand — the government shutdown. Yet it seems news organizations and even society are focusing on the less important things or people such as Pelosi.
The government shutdown is way more important than drama among political figures.
As simplistic as this skit makes the shutdown seem, it gives a voice to people other than high-powered political figures.
Lindsay Trombly can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @lindsay_trombly