Legitimate presidential candidate Donald Trump is hosting Saturday Night Live this week, in a move by NBC that does not at all seem desperate or hypocritical. And now the network has released a handful of promos for what will surely be the proudest moment in the careers of everyone involved. Trump has hosted the show before, but the first time was way back in 2004 when he was just a rich asshole who seemed kind of funny, and not a terrifying glimpse into the sort of buffoonery that really appeals to a shockingly huge number of American voters.
One thing you won’t see in the promos, though, is a cut gag in which Trump refers to fellow legitimate presidential candidate Ben Carson as a “complete and total loser.” NBC edited the joke out in a rare moment of sanity, but nothing on the internet is ever truly gone, so it’s still pretty easy to find if you’re interested. (Not that’s it’s difficult to find a video of Trump calling someone a loser.)
NBC and SNL have been facing a lot of criticism lately over the decision to let Trump host, with a petition calling for his removal accusing NBC of “[not caring] about its Latino and pro-immigrant viewers.” Now, with Saturday approaching, even more people are speaking out against Trump and SNL. As reported by Variety, director Alejandro González Iñárritu and actor Diego Luna are “among the dozens of prominent Hispanic figures” who have signed a letter referring to Trump’s nonsense as “hate speech,” adding that it reminds them “of the past campaigns that have been directed against other ethnic groups and that have resulted in the deaths of millions of people.” The letter also says that SNL is “giving acceptance and legitimacy to the views of a racist extremist by having him host.”
Basically, SNL must really be counting on the ratings for this Saturday’s episode being unbelievably giant if it’s willing to ignore stuff like that, and—once again—that does not at all seem desperate or hypocritical.