Rosie O’Donnell Offers to Help SNL Drive Donald Trump Over the Edge – Vanity Fair

From left: Courtesy of NBC; by Michael Bezjian/Getty Images; courtesy of The Washington Post/Getty Images

When Kristen Stewart and Alec Baldwin each took their shots at Donald Trump last Saturday night, a certain segment of the population waited for the president to explode on Twitter the next morning. Every Sunday morning is a countdown until Trump tweets about SNL, comedian Kumail Nanjiani joked. But Trump kept mum on that subject, restricting his messages to the Super Bowl and undermining the U.S. judicial system. In the end, however, it wasnt Baldwin or Stewart who reportedly got under Trumps skin: it was Melissa McCarthys brilliant and enormously popular take on Sean Spicer. And now Trumps decade-long foe, Rosie ODonnell, is offering to help finish the job.

Press Secretary Spicer is already on record as being casually displeased with McCarthys bullish, bombastic impression of him. He told Extra that McCarthy needs to slow down on the gum chewing; way too many pieces in there but generously called the show really funny. But according to Politico, it wasnt the gum chewing that displeased Trump. More than being lampooned as a press secretary who makes up facts, a source close to Trump told the website, it was Spicers portrayal by a woman that was most problematic in the presidents eyes. Even worse, the potentially emasculating portrayal is allegedly not considered helpful for Spicers longevity in the grueling, high-profile job in which he has struggled to strike the right balance between representing an administration that considers the media the opposition party, and developing a functional relationship with the press.

Throughout his campaign, Trump had made it clear that he has certain expectations when it comes to gender. He memorably kicked off a feud with former Fox News correspondent Megyn Kelly when she asked him about his attitude toward women during a primary debate. Kellys perceived aggression prompted Trump to claim she had blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever, and refer to her as a lightweight on Twitter.

But the nastiest, gendered feud of Trumps career (if you dont count the 2016 election) is the public battle hes fought with Rosie ODonnell. Starting in 2006 (when ODonnell made disparaging remarks about the future president on The View), Trump told People, Rosie's a loser. A real loser. I look forward to taking lots of money from my nice fat little Rosie. Like his odd fixation with Kristen Stewart, Trumps public bullying of ODonnell went on for surprisingly long period of timea decade and countingand he took every occasion to take a shot at her. The president sometimes bent over backwards to include an ODonnell insult in completely unrelated conversations. . .

. . .or even nationally-televised debates. Probably the Trump stuff was the most bullying I ever experienced in my life, including as a child, O'Donnell told People in 2016. It was national, and it was sanctioned societally. Whether I deserved it is up to your own interpretation.

Given their combative history, it should come as no surprise that ODonnell would want to help S.N.L. pile on to its increasingly confrontational portrayal of the president and his close circle. When news circulated late Monday night that Trumps biggest issue with S.N.L.s Spicer sketch was McCarthys gender, someone floated the idea that perhaps his old nemesis, Rosie ODonnell, should play Trumps top advisor: Steve Bannon. And as that idea picked up steam on Twitter, it made its way to ODonnell herself who was immediately game.

The person currently portraying Bannon on Saturday nights is new cast member Mikey Day whoin full Grim Reaper dragwhispers demonically bad ideas into Baldwins Trumps ear and forces the president to sit at a miniature desk while he takes the seat of power in the Oval Office. But as TV critic Alan Sepinwall notes, Trump might actually view this depiction of Bannon as a twisted compliment:

Portraying Bannon as the Grim Reaper doesnt seem to have gotten Bannon into the same hot water the Politico article suggests Spicer is now in. Being told that your top adviser is evil is an easy joke, and maybe even something to be taken as a point of pride, given how much Trump and Bannon both like to brag about crushing their enemies. But portray Bannon at his biggest and sloppiest while still forcing the classy POTUS himself to sit at the little desk and thats something that might actually make Trump question his trust in the man.

Mikey Days version of Bannonthough demonically evilis powerful. But on the subject of McCarthy as Spicer, a top Trump donor observed to Politico: Trump doesnt like his people to look weak.

Trump has time and again betrayed a curious obsession with body image. The Washington Post has a fairly exhaustive rundown of Trumps many targets which have included Jennifer Lopez, Chris Christie, Kim Kardashian, former Miss Universe Alicia Machado, and, of course, ODonnell herself. One suspects this evident preoccupation may also play a role in Trumps allegedly negative reaction to McCarthy who launched a successful plus-sized clothing line in 2015 and often wears her own designs on the red carpet. So holding up ODonnellwhom Trump has cruelly called a fat pig, etc.as a mirror to Bannon does seem like a perfectly-crafted blow.

It seems unlikely that S.N.L. will tap ODonnell for the part. The show doesnt often cast its roles by committee. But for ODonnella plus-sized, gay womanto step into the role of the power behind Trumps throne might just be the thing to send the president over the edge. (If thats their goal.) Given the presidents recent reaction to allegations of Bannons power over him (I call my own shots he tweeted Monday morning in response to a New York Times article detailing Bannons sway), Trump may already be teetering on the brink.

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Rosie O'Donnell Offers to Help SNL Drive Donald Trump Over the Edge - Vanity Fair

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