by CNN Political Unit
The creator of “Saturday Night Live” indicated in a interview that Republicans have a better sense of humor than Democrats.
“Republicans are easier for us than Democrats. Democrats tend to take it personally; Republicans think it’s funny,” Lorne Michaels told New York Magazine in an article published online Sunday.
The sketch comedy show, now in its 39th season, has long been known for delving into politics on Saturday nights, turning the latest gaffes or debacles into a parody–especially in election years.
While the current season has poked fun at the rocky Obamacare rollout as well as the government shutdown, Michaels acknowledged that the show doesn’t feature as many policy debates as it used to.
He pointed to an example of a Piers Morgan parody in which the character interviewed A-Rod, Chris Christie, and Justin Bieber.
“We’re doing more of that kind of thing than stuff about Benghazi or the new budget agreement,” Michaels said. “The country has lost interest in it. I can’t tell you why. It’s no less important, but in some way you can’t do health care more than twice, at which point there’s just nothing left.”
He also said President Obama, who’s played by Jay Pharoah, “is probably the first president in a long time that we’ve been doing less of.”
“Reagan was that way, too, oddly enough, until Jim Downey and Al Franken figured out that Reagan mastermind sketch,” he continued. “(Reagan) was an actor, and the public already knew that, and they voted for him anyway. We couldn’t find a way in.”
CNN’s Ashley Killough contributed to this report.