I will be honest and say that I wrote my original introduction and jotted down most of what I wanted in this list before November 8th. This was supposed to be a fun “now we are free!” article looking back on all the comedy that got us through each week of the election. Now this article must have a different tone, I’m afraid. I am still going to list out the best of the 2016 election news satire moments. I am still going to sincerely thank all of the people involved in creating these beautiful works of satire, and helping the country through each election week. I’ll even still mention that these will be relics from a historical era, studied by children in future classrooms to get a sense of our 2016 election culture. Yet now I must also stress the fact that need for these comedians has only increased. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t desperately looking forward to what each comedian was going to say post-election. We look to these people in their fancy business clothes for laughs, but they're also voices we trust for a needed perspective and can bring us all hope. With that spirit in mind let’s look at the best of the news satire that got us through this election.
1. John Oliver’s names for the 2016 Election
These were emotionally cleansing.
2. Stephen’s Colbert’s "Hungry for Power Games"
There used to be a ton of candidates running so Stephen Colbert would act like Caesar Flickerman to go over their pitfalls once they dropped out. Let’s not forget that this hilarious segment lead up to the finale of his character running around the Democratic and Republican National Conventions.
3. Samantha Bee's party with young college-educated Trump supporters
"We have snacks, and we have gift bags, an onsite masseuse. We have a champagne pyramid. Plus we have this fact checker right here, don't worry about him!"
4. Trevor Noah’s "Cruz Your Own Adventure"
Ted Cruz campaign posted over 13 hours of raw footage of Cruz "doing presidenty stuff and listening to his family say really nice stuff about him." It was intended for campaign ads, but with music and editing you can anything with it. The Daily Show created a Ted Cruz horror movie trailer and a sitcom to show us.
5. Saturday Night Live's "Bern Your Enthusiasm"
Larry David is amazing, and did I mention this was directed by Bernie Sanders?
6. When Seth Meyers would moderate Late Night debates
Seamless cutting took what the candidates actually said and created hilarious answers to Seth's questions.
7. When Stephen Colbert helped President Obama prepare for his next career
Because sometimes we forgot that a new president meant sending the current one back out into the job market to fend for himself.
8. When John Oliver compared Trump's campaign to the 5th grade book, "The Kid Who Ran For President"
"This fictional twelve-year-old boy sounds vastly more reasonable than you, an actual 70-year-old man, but you get my point here."
9. Seth Meyers' take on the candidates' first presidential debate prep
"And Trump might think bigot is a compliment because it has the world 'big' in it."
10. The SNL campaign ad where Kate McKinnon's Hillary gradually turned into Bernie
"Feel The Bern For Her."
11. Samantha Bee's theory that Trump can't read
Is this even satire? I'm pretty convinced on this one actually.
12. Trevor Noah on Anthony Weiner's connection to Hillary's emails
"He needs to start using his dick pics for good.... some people see sexting scandals, I see a cock-ortunity."
13. The Saturday Night Live Openings
Particularly the debates, and particularly the ending of the one right before Election Day, where Kate McKinnon and Alec Baldwin break the 4th floor, leave the stage, and frolic around New York City.
Bonus: Bad Lip Reading’s "Presidential Poetry Slam
"A simple voice over matches the candidates' lips and they really appear to be reciting poetry. It's hilarious and I also recommend this YouTube channel's other political clips.
