‘SNL’ cast directly appeal to President-elect Donald Trump during cold open of post-election episode

By CNN Newsource

Published November 9, 2024 9:49 pm

By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN

(CNN) — Several of the cast members of “Saturday Night Live” took to the stage at Studio 8H in New York on Saturday in the first episode after the presidential election, where they jokingly appealed directly to President-elect Donald Trump about how they shouldn’t be among his “political enemies.”

In what started out as a sober-feeling skit, the cast acknowledged that to “many people watching this show right now,” the results of the election were, as cast member Ego Nwodim said, “shocking, and even horrifying.”

Kenan Thompson went on to refer to Trump as somebody who “called for vengeance against his political enemies,” with Nwodim saying that they believe that now there’s “nothing to protect the people who are brave enough to speak out against him.”

Then, the tone shifted as Thompson humorously added, “And that is why we at ‘SNL’ would like to say to Donald Trump, we… have been with you all along!”

The cast then said they were in fact supportive of Trump leading up to the election, with Bowen Yang remarking, “We have never wavered in our support of you!” and Heidi Gardner later joking that she voted for him “fifty times” in swing stage Pennsylvania.

“So if you’re keeping some kind of list of your enemies, then…” Thompson said, with Marcello Hernandez finishing his sentence, saying, “we should not be on that list.”

The cast also debuted a new version of James Austin Johnson’s Trump on the show, which is known for its political impersonations.

Johnson then appeared on stage as the newly revamped “hot jacked Trump,” sporting a red headband and incredibly muscle-bound arms.

“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.”

“SNL” alum Dana Carvey also made a cameo in the cold open – but not as President Joe Biden, who he has been portraying since Season 50 kicked off. This time, Carvey appeared as Elon Musk.

Bill Burr served as this week’s host, with Mk.gee as the musical guest.

“Saturday Night Live” airs on NBC at 11:30 p.m. EDT/8:30 p.m. PDT.