Comedian Bill Burr has the difficult task of hosting the first post-election episode of Saturday Night Live. It won't be easy to get the SNL audience to laugh at another Donald Trump victory, but Burr managed to accomplish something similar back in 2016.
Ask most of the SNL cast and writers who they wanted to win the election and the answers probably wouldn't be a surprise. While SNL mock both sides, Trump and his allies have been the focal point of more sketches, punchlines, and satire over the past nine years.
Now, for the second time, Bill Burr returns to Studio 8H with all eyes on him. What he says about Trump's victory will set the tone for SNL going forward as the sketch show finds that it isn't done with Trump (sorry, James Austin Johnson).
At least we have a frame of reference for a Donald Trump White House. The second time around may not be exactly like it was in 2016, but at least nobody is going in completely blind.
Burr didn't have that luxury when he sat down with Conan O'Brien in 2016. He visited Conan right after the election and admitted he didn't like Trump or Hillary Clinton. But that doesn't mean he wasn't taken off guard by Trump's victory like the rest of the country.
" winning was the most astounding thing I've ever seen,," Burr said. "The star of a reality show is going to run the country."
Burr actually went on to compliment Trump in the comedian's own way. He told Conan O'Brien that Trump's ability to wing it and "s*** talk" his way through things was actually admirable. Burr's comments were tongue-in-cheek to a degree and without the benefit of hindsight.
When O'Brien asked Burr if the comic was at all concerned about Trump taking office, Burr downplayed the role of a president, saying that they're only seen "once every three weeks."
Of course, that isn't how Trump's presidency played out. Trump loved, and still loves, the spotlight. His tweets, press conferences, and behavior on the world stage became fodder for daily dissection.
Burr did manage to get the crowd on his side when he claimed there was no way Trump would construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. That prediction came true, but we'll see what happens over the next four years.
Bill Burr hosts Saturday Night Live on Nov. 9
Bill Burr probably won't deliver the same kind of message when he hosts Saturday Night Live on Nov. 9. The comedian isn't overtly political, but there's a reason Lorne Michaels asked Burr to host the first post-election show, knowing there was a chance Trump won.
Burr's appeal is that he is neither far left nor far right. He supports gun control, abortion rights, and mocked Trump supporters who expressed outrage when his wife flipped off the ex-president at a UFC fight.
At the same time, Burr has pushed back against political correctness that has become a sticking point on the right. The comedian also called out Jimmy Kimmel for making Trump a "martyr" and giving him too much attention after he left the White House.
All that is to say don't expect a doom and gloom monologue from Burr on Nov. 9. Instead, he'll likely give liberals a hard time for losing what should have been an easy victory. He'll also turn it around on Trump's laundry list of disqualifying behavior. No matter what, it will be in Burr's signature style.