Druski Skewers Republican Back-Pedaling in Cut for Time ‘SNL’ Sketch

Hot damn, it’s good to be back! For those who don’t know, I spent 31 days in the hospital between September and October due to an aortic aneurysm that required surgery, something I’ll likely write about more in-depth here soon. It was a lot, and even getting to open this document and return to some sense of normalcy has me tearing up, something that is happening a lot more post-getting cut open (and I was already an easy cry). For those who did know and reached out or commented, I appreciate you greatly. Your kindness has truly been a salve.

But now, back to our regularly scheduled programming! Druski hosted SNL this weekend, and if you’re like my wife and that name made you say, “who,” then you are not alone and likely have to ask your kids or nieces and nephews for a proper explanation. I first saw the content creator in a string of T-Mobile commercials he starred in with Zoe Saldaña and Jeff Bridges and was… thoroughly confused.

Not long after, my younger (by a year) brother started sending me videos Druski does where people are essentially brought in front of him to be roasted. It’s juvenile, silly, and occasionally offensive, but I’d be lying if I said they didn’t make me laugh on occasion. It also made me curious as to where this guy fell socially. That all mostly changed when I saw his video mocking Erika Kirk in full, terrifying makeup.

If you haven’t seen it, Druski pretends to be the chairwoman of Turning Point USA, mocking her media appearances post her husband’s murder, fireworks and all. While he doesn’t name her specifically, it’s pretty obvious who he’s skewering. The video was the first time that I saw him as more than just a content creator, and I was none too surprised to see that he would be hosting SNL. In a world where he maybe wasn’t as popular, I could see him becoming a cast member.

He did a great job this week, fitting right in with the crew with ease. While there were several sketches to choose from, I wanted to zero in on one that was released after the show aired. I assume. I didn’t watch it live, as I currently have an incision that goes from my belly button to my left shoulder blade and finds me in bed mighty early. This pre-taped sketch was about Republicans trying to dial back their extreme and hateful rhetoric after getting shellacked during the midterms, and it hit like a warm bath (which I can’t take right now, again, because of the incision and numerous staples).

Democrats saw historic wins this past Tuesday, ideally ushering in a new era in Washington, DC. It was a repudiation of the current administration and was so thorough that said administration couldn’t even really cry foul. They’ll try! And they’ve certainly made some threats since then, but they also have had to admit that they faced significant losses. But it wasn’t just the state of things that made them lose so badly. Many of the party’s candidates ran campaigns steeped in hateful, disgusting rhetoric, and we’ve already seen some of them trying to act as if none of that happened.

The sketch poking fun at this finds Druski and several other cast members posing as Republican candidates and apologizing for being racist pieces of garbage. It’s pretty straightforward, but I think that’s what I like about it. Last week was a sign that people are tired of the vitriol we’ve come to expect from the GOP. Yes, there will still be people who celebrate it, but the voters showed that it has gone too far, and I’ll take that as a good sign. Still, some candidates have tried to act like it was business as usual, and that should be rejected as well.

Vivek Ramaswamy released one of the most disgusting attack ads against his opponent, Amy Acton, and she went on to rightfully clean his clock. Then, she did not respond to his call to concede. Nor should she! The level to which he stooped was abhorrent on many levels. There is no coming back from that. And yes, I know this is an article about a silly SNL sketch that mocked Republicans for their terrible actions, but it felt important in a way. We cannot forget or forgive. There is no moving on from what many of them did. In fact, it’s time to dig our heels in and make sure that kind of dirty business never finds its way into our public sphere again without treating it as exactly what it is.

Druski is 32 years old according to a quick internet search. That’s honestly older than I expected. But he has a younger fan base, and the fact that he’s falling on this side of things makes me a bit more hopeful that things will continue to change for the better. Am I currently recovering from a near-death experience that has heightened my emotions significantly and made hope a main source of sustenance for my soul? You betcha! Could things easily swing back culturally in the next few years, undoing what progress we’ve made as a society? I’m gonna say hell no, because I don’t want that to be the case. Even if I’m just sharing an SNL sketch featuring a prominent SNL star that reads Republicans for filth, I’m going to take this time to think that things will only get better from here. I have to.