The Cast of ‘SNL’ Tries to Backtrack Their Views on Trump in the Week’s Cold Open

After weeks of biting political commentary surrounding the 2024 election, many were eager to see how Saturday Night Live would handle the results of the nail-biting presidential race, especially considering that the sketch show welcomed Vice President Kamala Harris onto the stage just last week. After Donald Trump won the election in 2016, then-cast member Kate McKinnon portrayed Hilary Clinton at a piano singing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” but this week’s post-election cold open was much less somber, if not entirely sarcastic.

SNL has never been shy about making fun of Trump (and let’s face it, he provides a lot of material for the writers to run wild with), but during this week’s cold open the show broke from tradition and let the cast members talk directly to the audience not as characters, but as themselves (kind of).

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After listing some concerns that other people might feel at the prospect of another Trump term, one by one the cast members started backpedaling on the way they felt about the former/future president. “Every single person on this stage believed in you,” said Sarah Sherman. “Every single person on this stage voted for you,” Marcello Hernandez followed up, taking the cast’s lie even further. When musing about what another Trump presidency could mean for America, Ego Nwodim cheekily added, “We can’t wait to see what you do with the country this time. I keep waking up in the middle of the night screaming… with joy of course.”

Taking things to a whole new level, James Austin Johnson (who has been impersonating Trump since 2021) dropped by in a new and overly-muscled likeness: Hot Jacked Trump. “From now on we’re going to do a very flattering portrayal of Trump,” Johnson stated, “because he’s frankly my hero and he’s going to make an incredible president and eventually King.”

Related: Meet the Cast of 'SNL' Season 50

The skits closer, however, was none other than Dana Carvey, who after several weeks impersonating Joe Biden debuted a new impression: Elon Musk. Carvey imitated the viral meme of Musk jumping as he appeared to support Hot Jacked Trump.

You can watch the whole cold open here:

Related: 'SNL' Reveals Two New Hosts and Musical Guests for Season 50