Trump Sought Justice Department Intervention to Stop SNL from Making Fun of Him

Though former President Donald Trump's administration is a thing of the past (for now), reports continue to surface of his concerning behavior in office.

Right after news broke that Trump reportedly floated sending Americans infected with the virus that's killed 600 thousand people in the United States to Guantanamo Bay, a new report has emerged that Trump attempted to get his Justice Department to step in and prevent Saturday Night Live from parodying him on the long-running sketch show.

SNL has long been lauded for its political sketches, but its portrayal of the Trump administration during his time in office struck comedy gold, often prompting attacks from Trump himself. One tweet from then-President Trump even called on the Federal Election Commission and the Federal Communications Commission to "look into" the show.

A new report from Asawin Suebsaeng and Adam Rawnsley of The Daily Beast cites two unnamed sources who said:

"Trump had asked advisers and lawyers in early 2019 about what the Federal Communications Commission, the courts systems, and—most confusingly to some Trump lieutenants—the Department of Justice could do to probe or mitigate SNL, Jimmy Kimmel, and other late-night comedy mischief-makers."

Trump has repeatedly decried private companies, especially social media outlet, for regulating their content, falsely claiming that this is a violation of free speech. Trump's calls to have his Department of Justice intervene to prevent satirical characterizations of him seems at odds with the free speech absolutism cherished by many of his voters.

People called him out for blasting others as "snowflakes" despite his own thin skin.

The mockery was swift.

The most famous person to play Trump on SNL was Alec Baldwin, who later said he was "overjoyed" to lose the gig after Trump lost the 2020 election.