An amicable White House transition meeting between President Biden and President-elect Donald J. Trump provided the template for the opening sketch of this weekend’s “Saturday Night Live,” and it also gave “S.N.L.” another opportunity to rearrange its musical chairs of who’s playing whom in the Trump administration, with new roles for Sarah Sherman (as Matt Gaetz) and Alec Baldwin (as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.).
Dana Carvey, the “S.N.L.” alum who has lately been impersonating Biden on the show, returned to play the part, promising a “respectful conversation” with Trump, played by James Austin Johnson.
“Yeah, get a load of me,” Johnson said. “Instead of being rude and crazy like usual, I’m doing quiet and serene. Which, in many ways, is a lot scarier.”
After shooing away the reporters who were covering their meeting, Johnson said forlornly to Carvey that he was not looking forward to returning to the White House. “So many of the carpets are stinky and sticky at the same time,” he explained. “Sort of like being at a Regal Cinemas. Now I have to live here for the next four years. Possibly longer.”
Carvey responded that he had many wonderful memories of his time there: “Dr. Jill hosting foreign leaders,” he said. “My dog attacking every single one. I brought my party together so much they teamed up and kicked me out. Wait a minute — maybe I hate it here, too.”
Johnson boasted about the cabinet he was assembling: “They’re some of the most dynamic, free-thinking, animal-killing, sexually criminal, medically crazy people in the country,” he said. He singled out choices including Elon Musk and Gaetz (“That’s an ‘Alien vs. Predator,’” he said), Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota and Kennedy (“They’re killing the dogs, they’re killing the bears”) and added that “Melania will be working remotely from divorce.”
Johnson said he could not return to Mar-a-Lago because “Elon is there and he will not leave.”
Sherman, who played Gaetz in the sketch, entered the meeting and explained that she “had to resign from Congress because the confirmation process comes at the busiest time of year for me.”
Johnson asked, “The holidays?”
Sherman answered, “Girls’ volleyball season.”
Baldwin, who had previously played Trump on “S.N.L.” and appeared on the show earlier this season as the Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier, turned up this time as Kennedy, Trump’s intended nominee for health and human services secretary.
“I care deeply about a woman’s right to choose,” Baldwin said. “To choose to give her child polio.”
Once their guests had left, Carvey urged Johnson to use his position and his influence to “better the lives of all Americans.”
“I think we’ll be doing retribution,” Johnson answered, “but that’s very interesting.”
Johnson asked Carvey what he’d do now and whether he would consider retirement. “I’ll do what every worn-down old guy does,” Carvey answered. “I’m going to fight Jake Paul.”
Emerging franchise of the week
If this sketch, about a quartet of female friends singing a Chappell Roan-inspired musical tribute to their pregnant friend (Chloe Fineman) made no immediate sense to you, then cast your mind back to the halcyon days of October: That’s when “S.N.L.” ran this earlier segment where the friend group serenaded Fineman (whose character was then a new bride) with a Sabrina Carpenter pastiche that kept slyly refererring to her mysterious assignations with a side piece named Domingo (Marcello Hernández).
Well, the song (and Domingo) became an unexpected viral hit, paving the way for this week’s rapid sequel, with guest host Charli XCX taking the place of Ariana Grande in the group. Try to act surprised when “Domingo: the Movie” drops sometime later next year, going head-to-head in the Oscars race with “Wicked Part Two.”
SNL alumni of the week
Andy Samberg, the former “S.N.L.” cast member who had been playing Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff this season, hasn’t been back in that role since the election. But “S.N.L.” continues to keep him busy: He and Charli XCX starred in a filmed music video as an uptight couple who delight in calling the cops on their neighbors for the slightest of infractions.
Also returning this week was the former cast member Kyle Mooney, who appeared as himself in Charli XCX’s monologue and as a contestant in a sketch about a baking competition. Mooney was apparently too modest to flog the film he has coming next month, so maybe he just stopped by 30 Rock to grab a few things from his locker?
Weekend Update jokes of the week
Over at the Weekend Update desk, the anchors, Colin Jost and Michael Che, continued to riff on Trump’s cabinet picks.
Jost began:
This week, Donald Trump continued to announce everyone he’s going to fire in six months. Trump nominated Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security, Lee Zeldin to head the E.P.A. and Elise Stefanik as ambassador to the United Nations. And then someone yelled, “Now do a silly one!” On Wednesday, Trump nominated Matt Gaetz for attorney general. And Gaetz said the same thing he does when he sees a teenage girl: “I’ll do it.” Gaetz, who was created when Frankenstein raped Dracula, was chosen for attorney general after Trump remembered that his original pick was found dead in a jail cell. [His screen showed a picture of Jeffrey Epstein.]
Che continued:
Elon Musk is reportedly spending nearly every day with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago. But don’t worry, Elon will leave as soon as he finishes listing all the dinosaurs in alphabetical order. Elon Musk’s new department of government efficiency posted a job listing saying that they are looking for people willing to work 80-plus hours a week for no money. But you can’t be surprised that the white African guy’s first idea is slavery.
Jost picked up the thread:
Congratulations to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who became the first brain-worm survivor nominated to a cabinet-level position. Kennedy, whose skin is always cooked to a perfect medium-rare, will lead the department of Health and Human Services. And I know he doesn’t have a lot of experience, but I say we give him a shot. [His screen showed a picture of someone receiving an injection in their arm.]
Weekend Update desk characters of the week
This episode featured two visitors to the Weekend Update desk, both offering topical commentaries on current events and both about as eccentric and off-the-wall as they come. On the one hand, there was Bowen Yang as the “Tiger King” star Joe Exotic, pitching himself for a role in the next Trump administration. (“Like my mullet, my politics are country over party,” Yang explained, gesturing to his hairstyle.)
On the other hand, there Sherman in a squirrel costume playing the widow of P’Nut, an internet-famous squirrel who was championed by conservatives after he was euthanized. When she wasn’t hitting Jost with her costume tail, Sherman showed a surprising ability to mimic New York’s uniquely neurotic wildlife. After explaining that “squerking” was “when a squirrel shakes their entire body to attract a mate,” she went on to demonstrate with particularly nutso gusto.
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