I remember seeing Tim Robbins’ film Bob Roberts three decades ago, soon after it came out. It tells the wild and fanciful tale of a creepy arch-conservative authoritarian politician on the rise who presents as a kind of friendly Bob Dylanesque folkie. Sort of Don’t Look Back meets A Face in the Crowd.
What struck me most about it was the segment in which Roberts is invited to be the guest host of a show that is clearly modeled on Saturday Night Live. Several SNL staff members protest when Roberts unexpectedly turns his appearance into a political pitch.
In real life, Elon Musk was more strategic. He used his time on SNL to present as slightly goofy and harmless. Unfortunately, we now know better.
Recent events suggest that Tim Robbins was eerily prescient. It feels as though we are watching Bob Roberts, the Sequel. Except this time it isn’t fiction.