Professor Nicole Hemmer

And then he actually made him accidental and clumsy, right? But Gerald Ford didn't push back against that. He didn't try to censor that. He tried to embrace it and say, OK, like, I'm going to try to humanize the presidency. He wanted to show that he had a sense of humor. But what he does in that is that he then kind of gives by having his press secretary go on to host Saturday Night Live.

And then he actually made him accidental and clumsy, right? But Gerald Ford didn't push back against that. He didn't try to censor that. He tried to embrace it and say, OK, like, I'm going to try to humanize the presidency. He wanted to show that he had a sense of humor. But what he does in that is that he then kind of gives by having his press secretary go on to host Saturday Night Live.

And then he actually made him accidental and clumsy, right? But Gerald Ford didn't push back against that. He didn't try to censor that. He tried to embrace it and say, OK, like, I'm going to try to humanize the presidency. He wanted to show that he had a sense of humor. But what he does in that is that he then kind of gives by having his press secretary go on to host Saturday Night Live.

by appearing as the, doing the opening, a clip from the Oval Office, live from New York. He's actually legitimizing the role of, elevating the role of entertainment in the political process.

by appearing as the, doing the opening, a clip from the Oval Office, live from New York. He's actually legitimizing the role of, elevating the role of entertainment in the political process.

by appearing as the, doing the opening, a clip from the Oval Office, live from New York. He's actually legitimizing the role of, elevating the role of entertainment in the political process.

And so then that actually, you know, that paves the way for someone like Ronald Reagan and later on Donald Trump to kind of use their credentials in entertainment as justification for their political qualifications.

And so then that actually, you know, that paves the way for someone like Ronald Reagan and later on Donald Trump to kind of use their credentials in entertainment as justification for their political qualifications.

And so then that actually, you know, that paves the way for someone like Ronald Reagan and later on Donald Trump to kind of use their credentials in entertainment as justification for their political qualifications.

He was very uncomfortable with this, I will say. His team was very, you know, they didn't know what to do because this was new terrain. Having, you know, a late night show impersonate a president, that was really new. And so they were trying to deal with this in a way that, you know, showed that he wasn't, you know, trying to control and manipulate images like Richard Nixon had.

He was very uncomfortable with this, I will say. His team was very, you know, they didn't know what to do because this was new terrain. Having, you know, a late night show impersonate a president, that was really new. And so they were trying to deal with this in a way that, you know, showed that he wasn't, you know, trying to control and manipulate images like Richard Nixon had.

He was very uncomfortable with this, I will say. His team was very, you know, they didn't know what to do because this was new terrain. Having, you know, a late night show impersonate a president, that was really new. And so they were trying to deal with this in a way that, you know, showed that he wasn't, you know, trying to control and manipulate images like Richard Nixon had.

So again, this legacy of Nixon is looming over him.

So again, this legacy of Nixon is looming over him.

So again, this legacy of Nixon is looming over him.

Thanks so much for having me.

Thanks so much for having me.

Thanks so much for having me.

Boy, are they ever. And many of them, you know, worked within the Nixon administration. So there's a lot of overlap.

Boy, are they ever. And many of them, you know, worked within the Nixon administration. So there's a lot of overlap.