Much of the news media decided to take seriously a scripted joke that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump made in a teaser for his “Saturday Night Live” appearance this week.
The joke happened in an online video promoting Trump’s upcoming appearance on “Saturday Night.” The video is cut into several segments teasing Trump’s appearance, and in one of them, he calls his GOP rival Ben Carson “a complete loser.”
Though the video was posted online Wednesday, it has since been taken down by NBC.
A spokesperson for the Trump campaign confirmed to the Washington Examiner media desk that the joke about Carson was scripted and meant to be a caricature of the way Trump speaks. Even so, several news outlets treated Trump’s remark as a direct shot made in earnest at Carson.
“Trump slams Carson in ‘SNL’ promo,” said a screen title Thursday on CNN.
A headline by CBS News said, “Trump bashes Ben Carson for four seconds in Saturday Night Live promo.”
The Hollywood Reporter magazine said Trump “bashed” Carson in the video. And a headline in the magazine Variety said Trump was “mocking” Carson.
A reporter asked Carson to respond to the line on Wednesday. “I discovered when I was in grade school that those tactics really are for grade school and I’ve gone far beyond that now,” Carson said.
Trump’s pending appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” which he will host on Saturday, has been the subject of controversy since it was announced in October.
Several groups aligned with liberal and Democratic causes have called on NBC to reverse its decision to have Trump host the program because of controversial statements he has made about illegal immigrants throughout this campaign.
