# What all presidents or meaningful presidential contenders have hosted SNL **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 10, 2016, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-all-presidents-or-meaningful-presidential-contenders-have-hosted-snl/742672 "2016-01-10T05:09:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-all-presidents-or-meaningful-presidential-contenders-have-hosted-snl/742672/1 "2016-01-10T05:09:22Z")
I know Trump did recently, but did people like Bill (or Hillary) Clinton ever host? Did Al Gore, Carter, Nixon, Bush, etc. ever host? I know many of them have had guest appearances on SNL, but I don’t think many of them have hosted. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8797f3/32.png) [@The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Universe_Lashes_Out)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-all-presidents-or-meaningful-presidential-contenders-have-hosted-snl/742672/2 "2016-01-10T05:12:55Z")
Steve Forbes hosted. But I don’t think that actually answers your question. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-all-presidents-or-meaningful-presidential-contenders-have-hosted-snl/742672/3 "2016-01-10T05:25:15Z")
John McCain hosted in 2002. (He was the Republican Presidential nominee in 2008). ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-all-presidents-or-meaningful-presidential-contenders-have-hosted-snl/742672/4 "2016-01-10T05:45:51Z")
Nixon was no longer president when SNL started. However, Nixon did appear on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and on the show Laugh-In. I don’t know if any presidents or candidates appeared on entertainment television before that. ETA: Al Gore hosted SNL after he lost to the Bush. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-all-presidents-or-meaningful-presidential-contenders-have-hosted-snl/742672/5 "2016-01-10T08:17:58Z")
Rudy Giuliani and Ralph Nader both hosted, long before becoming candidates. Jesse Jackson hosted once in 1984, some months after his first bid for the nomination. ---
**Author:** ![Obeseus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbce88/32.png) [@Obeseus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obeseus)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-all-presidents-or-meaningful-presidential-contenders-have-hosted-snl/742672/6 "2016-01-10T10:28:19Z")
The Clintons, Carter, Nixon, and Bush never hosted. It’s a stretch to say they were meaningful candidates, but George McGovern hosted in 1984 about a month after dropping out of the race, and Al Sharpton, a fringe candidate in 2004, hosted in late 2003. As a gag, Paul Simon appeared during the opening monologue when the musician of the same name hosted in 1987, feigning ignorance that he was supposed to be the actual host.