Lorne Michaels: Trump Is ‘Committing Crimes’ in ‘Broad Daylight’

“Saturday Night Live” once kept presidents honest with its wild and crazy humor.

And then President Barack Obama entered the political scene. The iconic show has never been the same since, though that’s no fault of the nation’s first black president.

It was a creative choice by show founder Lorne Michaels.

Under Michaels’ tutelage, “SNL” suddenly became a partisan affair that pulled its punches when Democrats behaved badly. And it’s only grown more one-sided since then.

Bill Maher Blasts ‘Lying’ SNL for Portraying MAGA as Racist: ‘As a Liberal, I Don’t Like It’ https://t.co/O21l256tTb

— Mediaite (@Mediaite) May 19, 2025

Yet Michaels, 80, continues to insist the show speaks truth to power, no matter who lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. It’s a lie, of course, but he either believes it or pretends to do just that.

This week, Puck News checked in with Michaels to learn more about the show’s upcoming season, possible cast changes and more. The subject of a certain President came up, naturally, allowing Michaels to show his true colors.

I talked to Lorne Michaels. He “teared up a couple times” during the SNL50 show, was “stunned” by Colbert’s cancellation, and says he’s been assured by Comcast that Fallon and Meyers are “safe.” Also a big shakeup is coming to SNL. LOTS more ⬇️⬇️ https://t.co/cHctW0JUCA

— Matthew Belloni (@MattBelloni) August 22, 2025

It’s no accident “SNL” savages President Trump early and often while pretending the Democratic Party’s flaws aren’t worth mockery.

Remember how relentlessly “SNL” mocked President Joe Biden’s obvious mental decline? No? That’s because it didn’t happen.

Michaels suggested, without evidence, that we’ll never know if President Trump had a hand in Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” cancellation. That’s despite multiple media outlets digging into the story and quizzing behind-the-scenes staffers about the cancellation.

No one found evidence connecting Trump to Colbert’s dismissal. The narrative continues all the same on the Left, which explains Michaels’ answer.

It gets worse. 

“Whatever crimes [President Trump is] committing, he’s doing it in broad daylight … his politics are obviously not my politics, but denouncing him doesn’t work.”

Of course, Michaels is a liberal, but for his show’s first few decades camouflaged his biases by hitting both sides of the ideological aisle. It may not have been evenly distributed, but fans across the country could find humor targeting the “other” party.

Not anymore.

The inadvertently funny part of the Q&A came with Michaels’ thoughts on “SNL” veteran Michael Che. The comedian co-anchors the show’s “Weekend Update” segment, as reliably progressive as the rest of the show. Yet Michaels insists audiences would never guess the bit’s political allegiance.

“I don’t think anybody knows what Michael Che’s politics are, but they do think he’s funny,” Michaels said.

The latter part is subjective, of course. The first part? Not so much.