Saturday Night Live kicked off this week parodying establishment Democrats who celebrated their historic victories in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
The show began with presumptive Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (Sarah Sherman) and the likely next speaker of the House, Hakeem Jeffries (Kenan Thompson), toasting with champagne.
Sherman starts by joking: “This is the dream team right here, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries. Establishment Democrats, do we even know how to lose?” Thompson wryly responds: “Yes.”
Thompson muses on how the pair should handle their upcoming confrontations with the president. “Now that we are in charge, our first order of business will be to march right up to Donald Trump, look him dead in the eye and say, ‘Hey, knock it off buster,’” he says.
They also speculate about what the midterms could mean for the future of the Democratic party. “This election marked a seismic shift in politics,” Sherman begins.
“Oh, I agree,” Thompson continues. “These young Democrats have the base energized. Perhaps it’s time for us to step aside and pass the torch to the next generation.”
After a beat, the pair laugh mockingly. “No, never,” Thompson decides.
James Austin Johnson’s Trump then slides into frame, and the duo behind him freeze, which has become a common feature in the show.
Johnson explains that he is the reason the Democrats picked up big gains last week, saying: “That’s right, the Democrats never would have won without this horrible economy and terrible war. So in the words of Moana’s big fat friend, you’re welcome.”
Then some familiar administration characters pop in. First, Jeremy Culhane as Vice President JD Vance unsuccessfully tries to steal the spotlight from his boss. “The era of Vance has just begun,” Culhane says. Johnson quickly responds: “Nope, go away.”
Next, Johnson explains that the election was a “blue toonami” and that his party lost to the “dumbocrats. … Took me a really long time to come up with dumbocrats, but I got there.”
After that, Colin Jost as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth enters, and their dialogue pokes fun at the president’s propensity to comment on men’s appearances.
Johnson ends by rattling off a few of Trump’s other favorite nicknames for recently elected Democratic senators. Eventually, he mention’s “Talafreako” — for Sen.-elect James Talarico of Texas — and is interrupted by the real politician.
Talarico introduces himself, telling the audience: “Hi, America, I’m James Talarico, the guy who’s been texting you every day asking for 5$.”
“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,” he says. “I’m talking, of course, about SNL’s cold opens. How many of these Trump freezers are they going to do?”
Johnson then shouts from behind Talarico: “Infinity!”
Drew ‘Druski’ Desbordes makes history
The first “internet personality” to host SNL, Drew ‘Druski’ Desbordes rose to fame because of his interactions with fans through his fictional Coulda Been Records. Earlier this year, Desbordes also hosted the BET Awards, becoming the youngest person ever to do so.
In one of his more notable performances, Desbordes played himself, but as an alternate version of Nathan Fielder, co-director of “You Can See Everything,” the unconventional hit documentary about former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes and her partner, Billy Evans.
In Desbordes’s telling, he was hired before Fielder and made a documentary titled, “Dru Can See Everything.”
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