A study just put a number on what we've all known for years: NBC's Saturday Night Live aimed a staggering 91% of its political jokes at conservatives during Season 51. Out of 238 Weekend Update jokes across 20 episodes, 217 targeted the right. Eighteen — eighteen! — went after liberals. Three were non-partisan, presumably by accident.
Ninety-one percent. That's not comedy. That's a campaign contribution in sketch form with a two-drink minimum. MRC President David Bozell nailed it: "Michael Jordan famously said, 'Republicans buy sneakers, too.' Entertainment companies once understood that alienating half the country was probably not a great business model."
The study tracked every Weekend Update joke from October 4, 2025 through May 16, 2026. The results are exactly what you'd expect from a show that long ago traded laughs for lectures. Donald Trump was the top target with 108 jokes — nearly half the total — followed by RFK Jr. with 15, Kristi Noem with 12, Tucker Carlson with 11, and George Santos with 10. Melania Trump and JD Vance each caught 7. Even ICE and Kash Patel got 5 apiece.
Meanwhile, the entire liberal universe — every Democrat, every progressive cause, every left-wing scandal — warranted just 18 jokes total. That's fewer than Trump got in a single month.
The cold opens were even worse. Conservative and Republican characters showed up 54 times — 83% of all political appearances. Liberal characters? Ten. Cast member James Austin Johnson played Trump 13 times. Colin Jost suited up as Pete Hegseth 10 times. At this point, SNL's wardrobe department probably has more MAGA hats than a Trump rally.
And the jokes themselves? Weekend Update anchor Michael Che delivered this gem about Kamala Harris: "Yesterday, Kamala Harris said she was thinking about running for president again, and I like her chances as long as she finally grows that penis." Colin Jost, not to be outdone, offered this about Trump: "According to a senior official, President Trump keeps a letter in the resolute desk addressed to Vice President JD Vance in the event he dies or is assassinated. The letter reads simply, 'I wish it had been you.'"
Hilarious. Really pushing the boundaries of comedy there, fellas.
Zoom out to the two-season picture and it gets even better. Across Seasons 50 and 51 combined, SNL cracked 420 jokes about conservatives versus just 64 about liberals — an 86% average targeting rate. Season 51's 91% represents a new high. They're not evening out. They're accelerating.
There was a time when comedy meant punching in every direction — when the joke was the point, not the political agenda behind it. Johnny Carson mocked whoever was in power. So did the original SNL cast. But today's version isn't interested in being funny. It's interested in being useful to Democrats.
For every 10 jokes, 9 hit the right and maybe 1 grazes the left on the way out the door. That's not "equal opportunity satire." That's a writers' room full of people who all voted the same way, live in the same neighborhoods, and think the same thoughts pretending they represent America.
No wonder their ratings look like a Biden approval poll. When you tell half the country they're the punchline every single week, eventually they just stop showing up. And based on these numbers, SNL should be grateful anybody still bothers to tune in at all.