SNL portrays the Trump brothers as mental opposites, but why is Eric Trump the dumb one?

The Washington Post

After 24 straight years of presidents with young daughters, Saturday Night Live finally has adult sons to pick on with Donald Trump Jr. (Mikey Day) and Eric Trump (Alex Moffat). "For a year now," says Dan Zak, "SNL has portrayed the Trump brothers, Eric and Don Jr., as a study in contrasts: Don is the adult and his younger brother is still very much a child — and perhaps a somewhat delayed one at that. It’s like something out of Steinbeck, with Don placating Eric with toys, treats and reassuring words." Zak, who profiled the brothers for The Washington Post in 2016, says SNL "does not capture either of them in the slightest. But, then again, the show has never gotten Hillary Clinton right either." As Zak points out, even though Eric is portrayed as the dumb one, it has been Donald Jr. who has been "in the fray a lot more than Eric over the past two years," especially with the Russia investigation. “Unfortunately it is the price one pays for being in a political family,” Eric Trump says of the SNL characterization. “They got it wrong, they detest us and they will do anything to try and undermine our credibility.” Zak notes that politics has a history of turning siblings into punchlines. "When a whole family enters politics, as the Trumps have done, its siblings undergo a public sorting," he says. "The media try to sniff out black sheep. Quirks and idiosyncrasies balloon into defining traits."

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