‘SNL’ gave us the trial of Trump that the GOP Senate wouldn’t allow (opinion)

Editor’s Note: Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is the host of SiriusXM radio’s daily program “The Dean Obeidallah Show” and a columnist for The Daily Beast. A cold open began “SNL” with rolling text noting that the Senate trial will end without witnesses or new evidence, but adding for those hoping for more, “Here is …The Trial You Wish Had Happened.” Dean Obeidallah CNN In the “SNL” trial, Chief Justice Roberts is kicked out as the presiding officer by TV’s “Judge Mathis” who declares that, “This court needs a real judge who got some big brass ones under his skirt,” adding, “Watch out. First up was Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who defended Trump by declaring, “I want to remind the American people that all men are innocent after proven guilty.” Next up was Sen. Lindsey Graham who stated that he’s vocally defending Trump for one reason: “I’ve studied my chances of getting re-elected and it ain’t gonna happen unless I kiss Mr. Trump’s grits and tickle his biscuits.” That leads us to the fantasy part of the sketch that made this more of a real trial than what we’ve seen in the Senate. We hear “Judge Mathis” yell out words that I bet many wanted to hear from Chief Justice Roberts during the Senate trial, “Alright, I’m done with this nonsense … We are calling witnesses, because that’s how a damn trial works!” “SNL” is right: Witnesses are how a “damn trial works!” The real “Judge Mathis” has witnesses on his TV show as does “Judge Judy.” Even when “Animal Planet” had a court show, “Judge Wapner’s Animal Court,” they had witnesses testify. In fact, if Trump testified in the Senate the way Baldwin’s Trump did on “SNL”, does anyone believe it would have convinced 20 GOP senators to join with Democrats to convict and remove Trump?