Donald Trump

Illinois Rep. Gutierrez Asks NBC to Dump Trump From ‘SNL' Spot

Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez sent a strongly worded letter to the presidents of Comcast and NBC Universal urging them to "disinvite" Donald Trump from his upcoming hosting gig on "Saturday Night Live." 

Rep. Gutierrez serves in Cook County's fourth congressional district, which has a heavy Latino population. In his letter, he derided many of Trump's comments as "hateful and racist," particularly those geared toward Mexican immigrants.

"Having Donald Trump as a guest on every news and entertainment program is one thing, but allowing him to host 'Saturday Night Live' is another," Gutierrez wrote. "It is a level of endorsement that says to America that every hateful and racist thing Donald Trump has said since the moment he launched his campaign is acceptable and no big deal."

The congressman praised NBC for dropping its business relationship with Trump in July and made reference to other businesses that did the same, such as Serta, Macy's, NASCAR, Univision and ESPN, but he criticized the network's decision to bring Trump to "SNL" as host, calling it a "corporate blunder."

"Because he is ratings and comedy bonanza, Lorne Michaels and 'Saturday Night Live' are giving the Trump campaign 90 minutes of free network airtime," Gutierrez wrote.

Gutierrez himself appeared to be considering a run for president last year when he told Crain's Chicago Business that he had "not ruled out the possibility," but he later declared he was not going to run. Contrary to Trump, the key issue in Gutierrez's would-be campaign is sweeping immigration reform, which he championed while Congress was deadlocked on the issue.

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