Saturday Night Live celebrated the Democrats' blue tsunami with a triumphant episode skewering Donald Trump and featuring a surprise visit from “Talafreako.”
Texas senator-elect James Talarico crashed the end of the cold open during Saturday’s episode, which was hosted by comedian Druski with musical guest The Strokes. Talarico interrupted a rambling James Austin Johnson as Trump and was met with 20 seconds of applause and cheering.
“I’m James Talarico, the guy who’s been texting you every day asking for five dollars,” the popular Democrat politician said. Trump quipped, “In this economy, who can blame you?”
Talarico continued: “But I think, Mr. President, if we can work together, we can make life better for everyday Americans. It’s clear people want something new. They want something different. I’m talking, of course, about SNL’s cold opens. How many of these Trump freezers are they going to do?”
The cameo on Saturday’s episode came days after Talarico won the Texas Senate race with more than half of the vote, beating Ken Paxton and flipping the seat to Democrats for the first time since 1988. Talarico’s victory was part of the sweep that saw Democrats take control of the House and the Senate.
Before Talarico took the stage, Johnson’s Trump had been conducting a postmortem of his midterm election loss.
“I didn’t even say it was rigged,” Trump said about the election results. “I accepted the results, which is even scarier in a way. It’s like, ‘What the hell is he planning?’” He then added that he only cares about the renovations on his White House ballroom, adding, “Oh my God, I hate my life.”
During the cold open, Johnson’s Trump also spoke to Colin Jost as Pete Hegseth, who told him: “You think some election is going to stop me? Do I look like a person who gets less crazy when backed into a corner? I live a YOLO lifestyle. You only lose often, so I’m gonna keep losing for you, sir, unless Congress impeaches me. But you won’t let that happen, right?”
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go weigh the female soldiers. Peace out, war in,” Jost’s Hegseth said.
Saturday’s episode made history as Druski became the first internet content creator to ever host the show.
The viral star showed off his comedy chops during the episode with a spoof of the Nathan Fielder and Elizabeth Holmes documentary You Can See Everything where Druski appeared as Holmes, donning whiteface and blue contacts.
Druski had warned the SNL audience during his host monologue that whiteface was on the table. “Listen, I know y’all think SNL gonna water me down tonight, but no, they are not holding me back from saying anything,” he said. “They said, No. 1, no cussing. I cannot promise that. No. 2, no whiteface. I also can’t promise that. That’s about half the show right there.”
The episode also featured many surprise cameos in addition to Talarico. Oscar-winning actor Emma Stone joined Druski during his monologue, teasing the upcoming movie they star in together, The Catch. Walton Goggins joined The Strokes onstage for their performance. During the show’s goodnights, Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock were also seen on the stage, along with Michael B. Jordan.
Read More‘We’re in a fragile moment’: Sheryl Crow on Trump, Kid Rock and the next James Bond
