SNL: Garner The First Time People Have Agreed With Sharpton

NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” joked that the Eric Garner case marked the first time people have agreed with Al Sharpton.

The sketch, a mock-up of Sharpton’s MSNBC show “PoliticsNation” began with Sharpton’s character saying (with numerous pronunciation errors throughout) he was excited that people finally agreed with him, so excited that he had put on 100 pounds and that he was “all messed up” because he found himself agreeing with Bill O’Reilly.

Sharpton then “interviews” a lawyer, but spends most of the interview interrupting him to insert his own talking points. He then discusses the case with a member of the Police Benevolent Association who points out there are two sides, “on one side you have a video seen by millions that seems to clearly show police negligence, but on the other side” before shrugging and mouthing words and concluding “I mean yeah.” He also protests that because the video of Garner was not HD, it isn’t admissible. The police spokesman does lay out the rules for indicting a New York Police Officer, “the victim must not be resisting arrest, it’s best if he’s sleeping, and it helps if he’s white.” Although, he does deliver a shot to Sharpton telling him “good luck to you and all your protest friends going out there and stopping traffic in the city. Seems like the best way to get people on your side.”

The sketch concludes with Sharpton attempting to create a healing moment by re-enacting a picture of a Portland police officer hugging a protester with a New York Police Officer, which only leads to an awkward picture of Sharpton hugging a cop.

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett