The first “Saturday Night Live” show since Donald Trump’s election victory began on the somberest of tones, as a group of scantily clad cast members, mostly women and minorities, described their new reality.
“For many people, including many people watching now, the results were shocking and even horrifying,” Ego Nwodim said soberly.
“Donald Trump, who forcefully tried to overturn the results of the last election, has been restored to office,” Heidi Gardner said.
“And now, thanks to the Supreme Court, there are no longer guardrails,” Bowen Yang added.
Then came the deviation from the liberal-leaning show.
“That’s why we at SNL like to say to Donald Trump, ‘We’ve been with you all along,'” Kenan Thompson said.
“We have never wavered in our support for you, even when others doubted you,” Yang said.
“Everyone at this point believes in you,” Sarah Sherman said.
“Every single person on this platform voted for you,” Marcelo Hernandez added.
Cast members continued to profess their reverence and obedience to the former and future president, and introduced a new character, “Hot, Jacked Trump.”
Cast member James Austin Johnson, who plays the dead Trump and is practically guaranteed a long-term job by the election, comes out as president-elect in an Adonis body.
“From now on, we’re going to portray Trump in a very interesting way, because frankly, he’s my hero,” Johnson said in Trump’s voice, but speaking as himself. “He’ll make a great president and eventually a king.”
The episode, hosted by comedian and actor Bill Burr, was the first all season that didn’t kick off with former cast member Maya Rudolph, who played Vice President Kamala Harris, on a giddy five-week tour that culminated with an appearance by Harris herself last week. Which kicked off the show’s 50th season and led to a huge ratings spike.
Burr, who guest-hosted after Dave Chappelle’s final two episodes following the presidential election, pulled his own trick in his monologue, saying, “I don’t watch politics” and doing some standard poses including a plane part before switching back to the elephant. In the studio elections.
“Okay, let’s get to what you all want to talk about. ‘Okay ladies, you’re 0 and 2 against this guy,'” he said. “But you learn more from your losses than your wins. So let’s get into the game bar. Ladies, enough with the pants. Well, it doesn’t work. “Stop trying to respect yourself.”
He suggested female candidates wearing at least semi-nude clothing, saying: “I know a lot of ugly women – I mean feminists – who don’t want to hear this message.”
Burr was “so excited that this stupid election is finally over. Everyone knew who they were voting for four years ago. “Then they dragged us through a year and a half of this stuff,” he said.
After Trump’s first election victory in 2016, the show’s opening was serious and stayed that way with Kate McKinnon, who played Hillary Clinton in the show, appearing as a losing candidate sitting at the piano and singing a somber version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” that changed. Just one verse of the most famous versions of the song.
“And even though it all went wrong, I’ll stand before the master of song with nothing on my tongue but ‘Thank God,’” McKinnon sang in what became a moment of national catharsis for those who were on the losing side.
What do you know about the 2024 elections:
Global media rely on the AP for accurate US election results. Since 1848, the AP has been calling races up and down the ballot. Support us. Donate to AP.
After finishing, McKinnon said in a trembling voice: “I’m not giving up and neither should you” before delivering the obligatory “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!”
Rudolph did not appear as Harris on Saturday night, but former cast member Dana Carvey, who played President Joe Biden throughout the season, appeared as Elon Musk after the cast said they liked him too.
After the opening, the sketches switched to standard non-election “SNL” fare, minus the fake news “Weekend Update” of course.
“We learned on Tuesday that Democrats don’t actually know how to rig an election,” fake anchor Colin Jost said.
He later added: “If I knew the Democrats, they would take a long look in the mirror, learn from their mistakes and run for Biden again in 2028.”
Co-anchor Michael Che, who is Black, drank throughout the segment, saying he couldn’t believe people convinced him that Harris could win over rural Pennsylvanians.
“Obviously I spent a lot of time with you white liberals and your foolish optimism,” Che said.
