Donald Trump made me laugh with him and at him on Saturday Night Live, which is why he may have the last laugh by winning the GOP 指名／任命?

• e-mail

?Comedy shows and 政治家，政治屋s are rarely 平易な bedfellows.

Late-night comedy shows and 共和国の／共和党の 政治家，政治屋s are even more uncomfortable partners.

But Saturday Night Live and 前線-running GOP 候補者s are a nocturnal fusion so 有毒な they make the 厳しいd horse’s 長，率いる bed scene in The Godfather look a tea party.

Sarah Palin was the superstar of the 2008 選挙 until Tina Fey got her vituperative claws into her with spectacularly lethal 影響.

After weeks of hugely 損失ing mockery, 高めるd by Fey’s uncanny physical and 声の resemblance to her, Palin finally 結論するd that if you can’t （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 ‘em, join ‘em and appeared live on SNL.

Big mistake.

Minefield 回避するd: Trump’s monologue was typical Trump: bombastic, cocky, and very funny. ‘A lot of 広大な／多数の／重要なs have hosted this show,’ was his 開始 line. Then he paused as we all waited for the 必然的な: ‘…含むing me in 2004!’

Not every 政治家，政治屋 does so 井戸／弁護士席. Sarah Palin looked foolish when she joined the 週末 Update desk in 2008 while Amy Poehler 非難する roasted her and then 発射 dead a stuffed moose

Few will forget her sitting on the 週末 Update パネル盤 looking like a twitching, terrified rabbit in headlights as Amy Poehler loudly 非難する-roasted her in 前線 of a moose.

Palin became the butt of every joke in America and was dead in the Washington water.

So it was with some trepidation that I tuned into SNL last night to watch my old friend Donald Trump host in an 熱望して を待つd and hugely hyped 遭遇（する）.

I make no pretence of having hugely enjoyed Trump’s （選挙などの）運動をする to date.

Not because I support all the contentious things he’s said, nor because I agree with him on 問題／発行するs like guns, 移民／移住 or 気候 change.

(But then I wouldn’t agree with much of what the other 候補者s say about many 問題／発行するs, nor do I agree with anything the ますます ridiculous Dr Ben Carson says or stands for)

No, the 推論する／理由 I’ve enjoyed it is because Trump has exposed American politics for the simpering, shallow, 同志／支持者, insincere, dispiritingly intransigent cesspit that it’s become in 最近の years.

There’s just something inherently refreshing about a 候補者 who often says outrageous things but 辞退するs to 屈服する to the altar of political correctness and 問題／発行する grovelling 陳謝s when they 刺激する the 必然的な firestorm of usually faux indignant wrath.

Trump, whether you like him or not, is 高度に entertaining.

He’s also 高度に 確信して and has a very simple but powerfully connecting message: ‘I’m a very successful 億万長者 and I’m going to make America 広大な／多数の／重要な again.’

in words that Trump himself might use, he killed it. This was event television, the Superbowl of late-night 遭遇（する）s. And the ratings 証明するd it

I’ve been travelling around 田舎の America this past week, far 除去するd from the 自由主義の-支配するd East and West coasts, and 設立する a lot of love for The Donald.

They like his straight-talking combative style, his 残虐な takedowns of 対抗者s, and his supremely 肯定的な message for the country.

That’s why he’s 主要な the 投票s, and that’s why this SNL 外見 was a 潜在的に gigantic 白人指導者べったりの東洋人 肌.

So how did he do?

井戸／弁護士席, in words that Trump himself might use, he killed it.

This was event television, the Superbowl of late-night 遭遇（する）s.

Something that blew up social マスコミ, 点火（する）d the mainstream マスコミ, and will have everyone in America gossiping about today,?and brought SNL - as Trump 予報するd - its highest ratings for years.

It was also, as so many things are with Trump, very 議論の的になる.

He 直面するd angry 抗議するs at his 外見 from Hispanics still 怒り／怒るd by his inflammatory 発言／述べるs about 違法な 移民，移住（する）s into a 非，不，無-event.

They’d even 申し込む／申し出d $5000 to anyone who would 直面する him live on 空気／公表する.

It didn’t take long.

‘YOU’RE A RACIST!’ cried an off-審査する heckler as Trump had barely begun his monologue.

This was the moment he and everyone else had 恐れるd/hoped might happen.

Only it wasn’t a protestor, it was Larry David.

‘Larry, what are you doing?’ asked Trump.

‘I heard if I yelled that, they’d give me $5000,’ replied David with a shrug.

‘As a 実業家, I can fully 尊敬（する）・点 that,’ smirked Trump.

It was a brilliant way t o 信管を取り除く a minefield.

During Trump's monologue, Larry David heckled '人種差別主義者' Trump in a scripted bit that was a brilliant way to 信管を取り除く a minefield. Here the pair stand with Trump's daughter Ivanka and Sia during the の近くにing

Trump's hosting gig was に先行するd with 抗議するs and 嘆願（書）s calling on NBC to 取り消す the 億万長者

The 残り／休憩（する） of Trump’s monologue was typical Trump: bombastic, cocky, and very funny.

‘A lot of 広大な／多数の／重要なs have hosted this show,’ was his 開始 line.

Then he paused as we all waited for the 必然的な:

‘…含むing me in 2004!’

As the audience chuckled, he explained why he was hosting the show.

‘A lot of people are 説, “Donald, you’re the most amazing guy, you’re brilliant, you’re handsome, you’re rich, you have everything going, the world is waiting for you to be 大統領，／社長. So why are you hosting Saturday Night Live?” And the answer is, I really have nothing better to do….’

The （人が）群がる chuckled again, but it was only when he ripped into his old 敵 Rosie O’Donnell (‘She said things about me that were hurtful and untrue, I said some things about her that were mean, but 完全に 正確な!’) that they laughed loudly.

People pretend they hate Trump’s bellicose rhetoric, but it often can be undeniably very amusing too.

He also has （疑いを）晴らす, 会社／堅い positions that were skilfully 増強するd last night.

He gamely 提起する／ポーズをとるd up with a 偽の Melania for a skit that 堅固に 増強するd his positions - 含むing making Mexico 支払う／賃金 for a 国境 塀で囲む, getting rid of ISIS and making the economy stronger than ever

A sketch where Trump’s now 大統領，／社長, with daughter Ivanka as 長官 of 内部の and the 恐ろしい 見習い工 villain Omarosa Manigault as 国務長官, had ISIS now 除去するd, the economy ‘HUGE!’, 中国 now borrowing money from America, Putin sobbing and 身を引くing from ウクライナ共和国 after Trump brands him a ‘loser’, and the 大統領，／社長 of Mexico giving him a check for his 悪名高い 移民／移住 塀で囲む.

非，不，無 of this will have done anything but 固く結び付ける Trump’s 人気 with the 共和国の／共和党の base.

This is all 正確に／まさに what they want from their 候補者.

In another sketch, there was a 非常に長い discussion about the 選び出す／独身 biggest problem f エースing Americans under the leadership of 大統領 Trump: ‘They’re just so sick of winning!’ a スタッフの一員 explained, ‘they’re winning so much! It’s just too 広大な／多数の／重要な, sir!’

This was 推定では ーするつもりであるd to send up Trump for his constant exultation of ‘I’ll make America 広大な／多数の／重要な again!’

But I 嫌疑者，容疑者／疑う all it really 達成するd was making a few more Americans think that’s 正確に／まさに what he might 現実に do if he gets elected.

Trump 成し遂げるd some outlandish dad-dancing to Drake’s Hotline Bling. It had me howling in fits of laughter. And it 証明するd what he 約束d at the start: ‘I’m partly doing this to show I can laugh at myself’

In fact, the more the SNL writers, and there are dozens of them, tried to mock Trump, the more they 簡単に played into his self-促進するing 手渡すs.

に向かって the end, Trump 成し遂げるd some outlandish dad-dancing to Drake’s Hotline Bling. It literally had me howling in fits of laughter.

And it 証明するd what he 約束d at the start: ‘I’m partly doing this to show I can laugh at myself.’

It’s a mistake to take Donald Trump TOO 本気で. A lot of what he says is for 影響; to 簡単に make people laugh, 誘発する 審議, or to 獲得する news headlines.

He’s one of the greatest showmen in modern American history.

But it’s also a mistake to not take Donald Trump 本気で enough.

He’s no Sarah Palin, he’s way smarter than that.

He’s also way more personable.

It’s hard to imagine anyone, even his biggest detractors, watching last night’s SNL and not coming away with an 改善するd opinion about him.

What I’m about to say next may sound like hyperbole, but then Trump’s in the hyperbole 商売／仕事.

He only got 12 minutes of airtime on Saturday Night Live, but he not only 生き残るd it, he 絶対 栄えるd off it.

This might be the biggest 12 minutes of Donald Trump’s career ? the 12 minutes that won him the 2016 共和国の／共和党の 指名／任命.