Donald Trump ‘happy as Larry’ over heckling

Billionaire tycoon and would-be US president Donald Trump was heckled and called a racist during his opening monologue as he guest-hosted Saturday Night Live.

But the off-stage boo-boy turned out to be comedian Larry David, who moments earlier had performed his own impersonation of Democrat Bernie Sanders, who is also bidding to be his party’s choice to run for the White House.

“Larry, what are you doing?” Mr Trump asked on the NBC TV show.

“I heard if I did that I would get 5,000 dollars,” said David with a shrug, echoing an offer reportedly made by pro-Hispanic groups protesting at Republican Mr Trump’s appearance.

“As a businessman, I can fully respect that,” Mr Trump said.

Mr Trump hosted SNL as scheduled, amid high anticipation, sharp criticism and calls for the show to dump him.

Despite a 40-year history of lampooning politicians while inviting some to mock themselves as on-air guests, booking a presidential candidate to host the NBC sketch-comedy show was almost unprecedented.

Previously, only eight politicians had served as guest hosts. Only one of those — the Rev Al Sharpton, in 2003 — was actively involved in a presidential bid at the time. Hillary Clinton appeared in last month’s season premiere, but not as the host.

The Saturday TV platform granted Mr Trump fanned the flames of outrage sparked in June when he announced his Republican candidacy for president and described some Mexicans who are in the United States illegally as criminals and rapists.

NBC faced mounting pressure from a coalition of advocacy groups calling for him to be dropped from SNL for what one spokesman termed his “racist demagoguery”.

Hours before the show, dozens of protesters marched from Trump Tower to NBC’s studio in New York’s Rockefeller Plaza, chanting in both English and Spanish and carrying signs. In Spanish, they chanted “The people united shall never be defeated” and signs declared SNL racist.

“I feel like they’re giving him a platform,” said Hazel Hernandez, 26, who emigrated from El Salvador and now lives in Brooklyn.

Mr Trump’s comments last summer spurred NBC to sever its Miss Universe ties with him while declaring he would never return to his The Apprentice role. But leading up to Saturday’s broadcast, NBC did not respond to the outcry.

It was not Mr Trump’s first turn as guest host. The developer and media personality presided in April 2004, a few weeks after he debuted as host of The Apprentice.

Mr Trump welcomed the controversy, predicting it would boost his audience.

For candidate Mr Trump, whose many interview and debate appearances have drawn large audiences, a surge in this week’s SNL ratings seemed assured.

Trump quotes

• I try to learn from the past, but I plan for the future by focusing exclusively on the present. That’s where the fun is.
• Sometimes your best investments are the ones you don’t make.
• Money was never a big motivation for me, except as a way to keep score. The real excitement is playing the game.
• What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate.
• Part of being a winner is knowing when enough is enough.
• Sometimes you have to give up the fight and walk away, and move on to something that’s more productive.
• Everything in life is luck.
• All of the women on The Apprentice flirted with me – consciously or unconsciously. That’s to be expected.
• As long as your going to be thinking anyway, think big.
• In the end, you’re measured not by how much you undertake, but by what you finally accomplish.
• You have to think anyway, so why not think big?