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Conservatives targeted overwhelmingly for ‘Saturday Night Live’s’ political jabs, analysis finds
By Taylor Penley
Published May 16, 2026
A whopping 91% of "Saturday Night Live" jokes targeted conservatives this season, according to a new analysis by Media Research Center’s NewsBusters, and President Donald Trump remained the show’s favorite punching bag.
According to the analysis, provided exclusively to the New York Post, "Weekend Update" delivered 205 jokes aimed at conservatives compared to just 18 targeting liberals and three nonpartisan jabs during the season’s first 19 episodes.
Trump alone accounted for more than 100 punchlines, nearly half of those assessed, while conservative figures dominated the show’s cold opens at a far higher rate than their left-leaning counterparts.
More specifically, 49 Republican-centered portrayals overshadowed the 10 Democratic-focused portrayals and one nonpartisan-focused portrayal identified in the analysis.
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Bowen Yang portrays JD Vance and James Austin Johnson portrays Donald Trump during the "Campaign" cold open on "Saturday Night Live" on Sept. 28, 2024. (Will Heath/NBC/Getty Images)
Jokes taking aim at the president were made in addition to more than a dozen Trump portrayals from James Austin Johnson during this season's cold opens, the Post wrote, followed in quantity by War Secretary Pete Hegseth, former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s characters.
Fox News Digital reached out to NBC for comment but did not immediately hear back.
James Austin Johnson performs as President Donald Trump during the "Pete Hegseth" cold open on "Saturday Night Live" on Oct. 4, 2025. (Will Heath/NBC/Getty Images)
As far as "Weekend Update" jokes are concerned, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. trailed the president in second place, followed by Noem.
The Post highlighted how New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was targeted only once by "Weekend Update," while tying the analysis to a broader critique of the anti-Trump sentiment of late-night television.
When reached for comment, NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck told Fox News Digital, "For liberals who might be fearful they won't be able to receive their far-left 'comedy' fix once Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show' goes dark, look no further than 'SNL.' … Whether it's celebrity appearances or incendiary rhetoric masquerading as satire, 'SNL' will scratch that itch."
Houck added, "These networks are largely unapologetic in the fact that they do not represent all Americans. It's about using their supposed power to bend the public to their worldview."
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SNL anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che host "Weekend Update" on "Saturday Night Live" on Dec. 13, 2025. (Will Heath/NBC/Getty Images)
NewsBusters has called out the late-night comedy show with previous assessments of partisan leanings, including one article last October emphasizing that 82% of the prior season's jokes targeted conservatives or Republicans.
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https://www.foxnews.com/media/conservatives-targeted-overwhelmingly-saturday-night-lives-political-jabs-analysis-finds