Donald Trump doing Hotline Bling is the worst thing ever

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump has hosted the sketch-comedy show Saturday Night Live, memorably mimicking Drake's Hotline Bling dance moves in a parody version of the song.

Trump appears halfway through SNL's version of Drake's recent hit, dancing awkwardly in a grey suit as the words "Tax Guys" appear on the screen.

Viewers quickly took to social media to share their views on Trump's off-key singing and "dad dancing".

Let's stop retweeting and posting Trump dancing to Hotline Bling. He's a bigot so who cares. Thanks. ✌

— Shug Avery, M.A. (@averylondon_) November 8, 2015

Trump defied protesters to make his highly anticipated but controversial appearance on the primetime TV comedy show.

Wearing a dark suit, white shirt and red tie, the bombastic Trump stepped on stage to cheers.

In a nearly five-minute opening monologue, that saw him flanked by two lookalikes, he insisted: "I am a nice guy."

"It's wonderful to be here. This is going to be something special," he said.

Trump, a billionaire real estate developer who has never held elected office, leads the polls for the Republican nomination for the White House.

He will be hoping his appearance on the show cements his status as frontrunner.

But the 69-year-old has courted controversy for his statements on immigration, promising that if he becomes president he will expel immigrants who are in the US illegally and build a wall along the border with Mexico.

He has also alleged that Mexico sends rapists and other criminals across the border.

That stance saw Latino community leaders hold a rally on Friday in Los Angeles calling on NBC Universal to drop Trump from Saturday Night Live.

There were more protests on Saturday in New York hours before the show was broadcast, with demonstrators marching to NBC's studio in Rockefeller Plaza.

- Agencies