The cast of “Saturday Night Live” fooled the audience by praising Donald Trump in the first episode of the series after his election.
Out in the cold open, cast members somberly discussed Trump’s victory and warned that “now, thanks to the Supreme Court, there are no more guardrails.”
“And that’s why we at ‘SNL’ want to say to Donald Trump: We’ve always been with you,” Kenan Thompson added.
“We have never wavered in our support of you, even when others doubted you!” Bowen Yang added sarcastically, before Sarah Sherman said, “Everyone on this stage believed in you.”
“Everyone on this stage voted for you!” added Marcello Hernández.
The cast continued to praise the next president, while Colin Jost threw his “Weekend Update” co-host Michael Che under the bus, calling him the “lame-stream media.” (Jost later appeared on screen wearing a January 6-style Viking helmet.)
After Thompson and Hernández joked that the ‘SNL’ cast shouldn’t be on Trump’s list of enemies (if he had one), James Austin Johnson came out with fake muscles and a red Rambo headband as “Hot Jacked Trump.”
“From now on, we’re going to do a very flattering portrayal of Trump because, quite frankly, he’s my hero,” Johnson said. “And he’s going to be an incredible president and ultimately king. We love you friend!”
Then Dana Carvey, who previously played Joe Biden, entered the picture with the new impression: Elon Musk. Dressed in the Yes! But seriously, I run the country now. America will be like one of my rockets. They’re super cool and super fun, but there’s a small chance they’ll explode and everyone will die. Haha!”
There were plenty of laughs and the skit was a stark contrast to the post-election opening of “SNL” in 2016, in which Kate McKinnon delivered a serious rendition of “Hallelujah” as Hillary Clinton.
Notable in this cold open was Maya Rudolph, who appeared in every cold open of season 50 as Kamala Harris. In last week’s pre-election episode, Harris herself made a surprise cameo on “SNL,” starring opposite Rudolph.
“Saturday Night Live” debuted its ensemble of guest stars for the 2024 election during the cold open of the season 50 premiere episode on September 28. Andy Samberg was revealed as Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff, Jim Gaffigan played her running mate Tim Walz, and Carvey claimed Joe Biden. Cast members Johnson and Bowen Yang played Donald Trump and JD Vance this season.