For years, Saturday Night Live has entertained audiences by poking fun at politicians, but in an unpredictable
election year, the show’s skits may do more than just invoke laughter. They often are an accurate depiction of the political landscape, putting a sarcastic slant on real-life situations.

When SNL actor James Austin Johnson joked about “eating dogs” and “eating cats” in the “Harris and Trump Rallies Cold Open” skit, for instance, a reference to when Donald Trump claimed during the 2024 presidential
debate that immigrants in Springfield, OH were eating pets, they could have been potentially influencing the votes of SNL’s millions of viewers.

With such a large following, could SNL skits have voters reconsidering their political involvement? At WHS,
the answer is… maybe.

Senior and first-time voter Ella Oberstein said, “These skits have positively impacted my involvement in the sense that it seems more black and white and easier to understand, which prompts me to look into more complicated elements of the election.”

While Oberstein doesn’t rely on SNL as a political news source, the skits provide a forum for better understanding the parties and their views through comedy. Oberstein also argues that these skits keep political topics top of mind.

These skits not only garner a laugh, but are also reminders of a candidate’s values and traits. In 2008, Tina Fey was so spot on with her impersonation of Vice President Nominee Sarah Palin that she won a PrimeTime Emmy Award and could have even influenced voters. A TIME article from 2008 reported that “exposure to Tina Fey’s impersonation of Sarah Palin’s performance in that year’s vice-presidential debate on Saturday Night Live is associated with changes in attitudes toward her selection as VP candidate and presidential vote intentions.”

Senior Charlie Prieto, who also plans on voting in the upcoming election, took a different stance on the political impact of SNL. “I don’t think [SNL skits] have impacted me too much,” Prieto said. “I’ve gained all
my political knowledge from outside of SNL, obviously. It’s just a joke, a kind of platform that uses satire to
portray the political system, but I don’t think it should in any way sway people’s political standings.”

Whether these skits impact political views or not, they are able to reduce voter stress that the election creates. English Teacher Aimee Burgoyne recalled a recent poll by the American Psychological Association which found that 69 percent of Americans consider the presidential election to be a major stress. More than one-
third said the political climate has put a strain on their relationships with family members with opposing political views, while more than 7 in 10 are worried the election results could lead to violence. SNL’s political skits could be a reprieve for some people.

“For me, it’s kind of cathartic to just be able to watch something that feels like a more lighthearted take on
what I’m both interested in and also honestly a little bit anxious about,” Burgoyne said.

Regardless of whether watching SNL reduces anxiety, informs, or is just for pure entertainment, millions of viewers will be tuning in live on Saturday night this weekend to prepare for next week’s election on Nov. 5.