Review: Donald Trump on ‘Saturday Night Live’

It’s been a running question of this year’s Republican primary cycle: Is Donald J. Trump a clown?

Answer: Not nearly enough for “Saturday Night Live.”

It would be unfair to blame Mr. Trump alone for the deadness of the Nov. 7 episode. It’s hardly the first time the show has worked with a host who struggled with comedy line readings (some were professional actors). The bigger problem was the anodyne material. Mr. Trump said he hosted the episode to show he could “take a joke,” but “S.N.L.” hardly threw any his way.

Instead, having chased ratings by casting the controversial candidate, “S.N.L.” stuck with obvious, anemic political riffs and apolitical sketches that were cringeworthy all around. Mr. Trump himself had said that he had vetoed some material he found too risqué (a prerogative of hosts in the past), so maybe he killed better material that we’ll never see. But “S.N.L.,” having cast a boisterous figure whose political raison d’être is “winning,” delivered an episode that did nothing except play not to lose.

Arguably the most exciting moment of the broadcast came during Mr. Trump’s brief monologue, when Larry David — on set to reprise his role as Senator Bernie Sanders — called out “You’re a racist!” from the wings. It was a clever move to co-opt the $5,000 bounty that protesters had offered to anyone willing to disrupt the live broadcast. But it was a clear setup; Mr. David delivered his lines half-smiling, and Mr. Trump’s prepared response (“As a businessman, I can fully respect that”) fell flat.

That bit captured the problem with the episode: no one’s heart seemed to be in anything. “S.N.L.” is not obligated to take sides in the election — or not to take sides — but as a topical comedy show, it needs to have some point of view, an animating idea.