Comedian Aziz Ansari hosted the first episode of Saturday Night Live following the inauguration of President Donald Trump and he used the opportunity to address some of the issues surrounding the political landscape.
Ansari delved right in, noting that it was pretty cool that Trump was likely at home “watching a brown guy make fun of him.”
He urged viewers not to view every Trump supporter negatively, likening some to those who listen to the music of singer Chris Brown. “I’m just here for the tunes. I don’t know about that other stuff. I just like the dancing and the music. I don’t condone the extracurriculars.”
Ansari has been vocal about his feelings for Trump, even penning an op-ed in The New York Times in June titled “Why Trump Makes Me Scared for My Family.” Ansari’s parents, who were born in India, are featured prominently in his successful Netflix series Master of None and are Muslim immigrants.
He coins a new term, lower-case Ku Klux Klan, to refer to presumed closeted racist Americans who demonstrate “casual white supremacy,” saying they should “go back to pretending.” The issue, he purports, is that many don’t see normal “brown people” in their lives, just extremists showcased in news reports. “When they do the news report,” he suggests, “they should do a second report about some other brown people that are just up to normal stuff.” Like four Muslim guys eating nachos in Chicago. “Uh-oh,” he jokes, “looks like Nasir just spilled a little cheese on his khakis!”
Ansari ended the nine-minute monologue on a more serious note, urging Trump not to Tweet about how the comedian is lame (referencing Trump’s series of previous Tweets denouncing the show, its hosts, or guest stars as such when they mock him), but to write a real speech to help stop those “casual racists” from expressing their views of hate.
“If you look at our country’s history,” he continued, “change doesn’t come from presidents. Change comes from large groups of angry people. And if Day One is any indication, you are part of the largest group of angry people I have ever seen.
“We’ve always been divided by some of these big political issues,” he said. “As long as we treat each other with respect and remember that ultimately, we’re all Americans, we’ll be fine.”
