NEW YORK — The early ratings are in for Donald Trump’s appearance on “SNL” and they’re solid, but not “HUGE.”
Preliminary Nielsen ratings measuring households in 56 U.S. markets gave the “Saturday Night Live” episode its highest rating since only January 2012. Basketball great Charles Barkley was host that night.
The Republican presidential hopeful’s 90 minutes in the “SNL” spotlight followed weeks of anticipation and mounting calls for him to be dropped from the show. Critics complained the show was giving Trump a platform despite what they called his racially hateful rhetoric. Hours before the show’s live broadcast, dozens of protesters marched from Trump Tower to NBC’s studio in Rockefeller Plaza, chanting in both English and Spanish and carrying signs. Until Saturday, just eight politicians had served as guest hosts in the NBC sketch comedy series’ 40 years. Only one of those — the Rev. Al Sharpton, in 2003 — was actively involved in a presidential bid at the time.
