NBC announced today that the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will host the Nov. 7 episode of Saturday Night Live—his second time hosting the sketch comedy show.
Trump’s appearance is likely to get the show astronomical ratings—but his cameo could also give other Republican candidates vying for the nomination a windfall of free airtime. Thanks to the Federal Communication Commission’s “equal time” rule, if one candidate receives a certain amount of airtime, other opposing qualified candidates can ask for as many minutes of airtime on the same network, free of charge. The rule was invoked by Sen. Joseph Lieberman, who was running for the Democratic nomination in 2004, when his opponent Al Sharpton hosted SNL—Lieberman’s campaign lawyer eventually negotiated to have 28 minutes of a town hall with the candidate rerun on NBC.
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