Will ‘SNL’ Take Up Rosie O’Donnell’s Offer To Play Steve Bannon? [Opinion]

Will Rosie O’Donnell be offered a chance to play Steve Bannon on Saturday Night Live? If you know anything about Donald Trump, you know he loathes Rosie O’Donnell. The feeling has long been mutual between the two, and now that Melissa McCarthy killed it with her portrayal of Trump’s Press Secretary Sean Spicer, O’Donnell has offered up her services to SNL.

On Monday, a fan of Rosie O’Donnell suggested on Twitter that she play Trump on a future episode of SNL, noting that she does a great impression of him. She responded that she is “here to serve,” but she also reminded folks that Alec Baldwin has Trump, while McCarthy has Spicer.

While some social media users suggested that she portray Trump’s daughter Ivanka on SNL, others thought she could play his wife, Melania, for bigger laughs. The consensus, though, seems to be that Rosie O’Donnell should play Trump’s chief strategist Steve Bannon on a future SNL episode. Bannon is widely mocked for his disheveled look and his controversial views.

This would be the most humorous and satisfying option. Americans by and large already believe that Steve Bannon is the man behind the curtain pulling Trump’s strings. Having Rosie O’Donnell, Trump’s real-life enemy, playing his most trusted advisor on SNL’s cold open wherein she literally pulls his strings like a puppet could be so infuriating, embarrassing, and emasculating to him that it would send over the edge with fury. And that has Trump’s critics giggling with glee.

In the r/Politics forum on Reddit, users are excited about the possibility of Rosie appearing on SNL, especially if she plays Steve Bannon. One user summed up how it would look succinctly.

“I’d rather see him [Baldwin] stick to it in the cold open and have Rosie play Bannon. It would hit him in all the right ways. Not only would yet another of his cabinet be emasculated, not only would he be portrayed as Baldwin’s bumbling fool Trump, not only would there be another puppet angle beyond Putin, he would have to watch his TV doppelgänger kowtowing to the demands of a woman he truly despises.”

In an appearance on David Letterman in February of 2006, Trump discussed the economy, his business, and his many bankruptcies over the years. During the casual chat, Trump revealed how his “hundreds of companies” used bankruptcy laws to his advantage.

“I’ve had hundreds of companies and I’ve had companies that, you know, what you do is you utilize the laws of the United States in order to reduce debt sometimes, and individual companies have taken, through bankruptcies and it’s really worked out very well.”

CNN reports that in an audiobook published that same year, Trump discussed the housing market with marketing consultant Jon Ward. During a question-and-answer session, Trump revealed that he hoped the real estate market would crash so “people like me” could swoop in and buy properties at a below-market value.

Later that year, while a host on The View, Rosie O’Donnell criticized Trump’s business practices and called him a “snake-oil salesman.” Ever since then, Trump has loathed Rosie and insults her whenever he has an opportunity. During the first Republican debate, Megyn Kelly asked Trump to respond to the fact that he has called women he doesn’t like insulting names, such as “fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals.”

Trump replied he’d only done that with O’Donnell; his animosity toward her is such that she was the first woman he could think of when Kelly confronted him about it.

In the most recent SNL episode, Steve Bannon was played by a cast member dressed as the Grim Reaper, who goaded Baldwin’s Trump into making threatening phone calls to different countries. After Baldwin’s Trump is scolded by Zimbabwe’s president Mugabe (played by Kenan Thompson), Steve Bannon takes over Trump’s presidential desk, while Baldwin’s character sits at child’s desk and plays with a toy.

To say that Trump’s feelings toward Rosie O’Donnell are lukewarm would be a gross understatement. Rosie playing the part of his closest ally Steve Bannon would be more than just a slap in the face. It would be a rip-your-head-off-and-spit-down-your-throat declaration of war, one which O’Donnell seems ready to wage, with enthusiastic support from her fans and SNL viewers.

Will it happen, though? It’s hard to say yet. But, after Melissa McCarthy’s rousing success playing Sean Spicer, and Alec Baldwin’s perfect parody of Trump, the possibility of Rosie O’Donnell as Steve Bannon is probably much higher than Trump’s approval rating.

[Featured Image by Evan Agostini/AP Images]