Several of the cast members of “Saturday Night Live” went on the stage at Studio 8H in New York on Saturday in the first episode after the presidential election and jokingly turned to President-elect Donald Trump, asking him not to consider them among his political enemies.
Even in what began as a somber-feeling skit, the cast recognized that to “many people watching this show right now,” the outcome of the election was, in the words of cast member Ego Nwodim, “shocking, and even horrifying.”
Kenan Thompson proceeded to call Trump a man who “called for retribution on his political rivals” while Nwodim said that they think that now there is “nothing to shield the individuals who are sufficiently courageous to stand up to him.”
Finally, Thompson got more serious and said, “And that is why, the people at ‘SNL’ would like to say to Donald Trump, we… have been with you all along!”
The cast then claimed that they were indeed pro-Trump prior to the election with Bowen Yang stating “We have never changed our mind about you!” and Heidi Gardner later adding that she voted for Trump “fifty times” in swing state Pennsylvania.
“So if you’re keeping some kind of list of your enemies, then…” Thompson said, with Marcello Hernandez joining in when he is done with his sentence, “we should not be on that list.”
The cast also introduced a new character of James Austin Johnson’s Trump on the show which specialises in political satire.
Johnson then came out as the newly modified “hot jacked Trump” wearing a red headband and possessing some of the most exaggerated biceps one could imagine.
“They finally got the body right,” Johnson said while doing his impersonation of Trump and flexing. “From now on, we’re going to do a very flattering portrayal of Trump because he’s frankly my hero.”
Dana Carvey, an alumnus of ‘SNL’, also made a guest appearance in the cold open – but not as Joe Biden, who Carvey has been impersonating since Season 50.
This time, Carvey portrayed Elon Musk of SpaceX and Tesla. This week’s host was Bill Burr, while Mk.gee was the musical performer.
