Massive oral history of Election Day 2016 reveals what it was like in SNL writer's room
In case anyone had been able to forget for even a single blissful second, it’s almost been exactly one year since Donald Trump became our president. Since then, he’s tried and failed to enact a travel ban; tried and failed to keep transgender people out of the military; picked fights with Kim Jong Un, the Bushes, and sports; pardoned an openly racist sheriff; defended white supremacists; invented a word; and played a shitload of golf.
Yeah, it’s been a nightmare, one that took on a new shape on November 8, 2016, a day that Esquire felt the need to revisit in a new, extremely thorough oral history. For the piece, the writers spoke with politicians, pundits, entertainers, organizers, and even the heaving blob that houses Steve Bannon, resulting in a piece that examines the expectations and sense of surprise that afflicted both sides of the divide.
As the election unfolded, comedian Neal Brennan was with Dave Chappelle preparing for the latter’s hosting gig on Saturday Night Live. Brennan recalls sitting with the writers as the election results poured in, and the feeling of despair that accompanied the idea of having to cull comedy from what was clearly a despairing moment in American culture.