SNL Honors “TBD,” the Republican Who Will Stand Up to Trump

Saturday Night Live lampooned Republican cowardice last night with a mock trailer for the movie, “Courage, Compassion, Country: The TBD Story.” The trailer paints a picture of a nation divided and frightened, “until one Republican decided enough was enough. A patriot who put country over party, who finally stood up for his nation’s founding values, a man by the name of…TBD.”

One of the movie’s fake reviews reads, “It’s definitely not about Paul Ryan.”

While some Republican senators have spoken out against Trump, defending the free press, calling out his cabinet for “flirting with authoritarianism,” or saying they’re “very worried” about his comments, they’ve yet to confront him in a meaningful way on his policy issues. They’ve confirmed his nominees, acquiesced to his executive orders, and quietly waited for his most shameful statements to blow over.

I found this trailer really funny, but it’s worth noting that SNL presumed a man as the movie’s protagonist. I know that in some ways that’s part of the parody: these movies are almost always made about men, almost all Republican leadership is male, and the halfway-heroes in the Republican party thus far have mostly been men. However, that choice also plays into sexist ideas about power, and, more importantly for me, lets prominent female Republicans–looking at you, Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) –off the hook. Collins and Murkowski are textbook examples of half-hearted resistance; they only agreed to oppose the nomination of catastrophically ill-equipped Betsy Devos when they knew she would be confirmed anyway. They, too, deserve to be lampooned.

In short: whatever your gender, Republican congresspeople–we’re watching how you vote, too.

(Via Pajiba; image via screengrab from the skit)

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