Fox News’ Shep Smith ridiculed NBCUniversal Tuesday afternoon for scheduling Donald Trump to host “Saturday Night Live,” noting in an unscripted monologue that it wasn’t too long ago that the media giant supposedly dumped the real estate mogul over his inflammatory remarks on illegal immigrants.
“The network that once cut ties with Donald Trump over his comments on immigrants is now welcoming him back,” the Fox anchor grinned.
“You did a great job,” he added sarcastically. “We’re all proud of you, NBC.”
In June, during his campaign launch, Trump promised he’d fix America’s broken immigration system by building a “great wall” on the southern border. He also accused the Mexican government of dumping its riffraff on the United States.
“They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime,” Trump said. “They’re rapists and some, I assume, are good people, but I speak to border guards and they’re telling us what we’re getting.”
NBCUniversal and its affiliates responded immediately, breaking ties immediately with Trump’s many business ventures in a very public manner.
“At NBC, respect and dignity for all people are cornerstones of our values,” the group told Washington Examiner’s media desk in June. “Due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants, NBCUniversal is ending its business relationship with Mr. Trump.”
The media giant even made sure to say publicly that Trump would never again host the popular reality TV show The Apprentice.
But all that seems to have changed, as NBC appears to have forgiven Trump for his past remarks, much to Shep Smith’s amusement.
“NBC, of course, ended its relationship with Trump earlier this year because he said Mexican immigrants are rapists and that they bring drugs and crime,” he said. “NBC and everything Comcast did not want to be associated with Donald Trump. [They] left all the money on the table. No more!”
“No more Trump on NBC! No more Trump! So what’s he doing? He’s going back to NBC. Good job. Nice job, NBC. You made a stand! You stood for your values. You did what you must. Forget the money! No more Trump! Except … more Trump.”
The GOP front-runner will host Saturday Night Live on Nov. 7. Trump last hosted the popular comedy show more than 10 years ago, on April 3, 2004.
