Last night’s episode of Saturday Night Live featured four-time host Dave Chappelle, who smoked a cigarette on stage and pleaded for empathy for displaced people, “whether they’re in the Palisades or Palestine.”
The show’s cold open featured James Austin Johnson reprising his role as Donald Trump, just two days before the inauguration. This time, the focus was on the TikTok ban.
Coincidentally, about an hour before the episode aired, TikTok went offline in the U.S. due to a new law that restricted the app from being available in U.S. app stores. The legislation gave TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, a deadline to sell the platform or face a ban. With no sale taking place, TikTok confirmed the ban took effect at midnight.
The skit’s premise revolved around MSNBC’s coverage of inauguration weekend, with Rachel Maddow (played by Sarah Sherman) and other network anchors attempting to concentrate on Trump’s policies. However, they found themselves repeatedly sidetracked by his outrageous proposals and posts on Truth Social.
When the TikTok news broke, the anchors couldn’t resist turning their attention to Trump’s response.
“Yes, we love TikTok, don’t we?” said Johnson, portraying Trump. “We love TikTok. We used to hate it, but then it, quite frankly, in many ways, got me elected.” From there, Trump launched into his signature stream-of-consciousness style, or as the sketch called it, “the weave.”
“We also love the Rizzler, don’t we folks? They’re trying to take the Rizzler away from us. It’s so sad. They want him the hell out of here,” he continued. Trump then rambled about other viral trends, including the ice bucket challenge.
“We may have to go over to Reels with Mark Zuckerberg. I like him now. Zuck, he looks much better, much cooler in terms of perm and with regard to pain. He will of course be at my inauguration which will be indoors — too many people to fit outside.”
Trump also quipped, “We’re very excited to be inaugurated on Martin Luther King Day. I like sharing the day.”
The skit then introduced Trump’s “latest cabinet pick,” George Santos (portrayed by Bowen Yang).
“I’m so honored to be joining Trump’s cabinet as Secretary of Fact Checking and Ambassador to Sephora,” Santos said. “I am part of the politician-to-Cameo-to-politician-and-eventually-to-jail pipeline.”
The scene shifted back to the MSNBC anchors, still unable to resist Trump’s constant tweets and announcements. Among his declarations were that “America has declared war on sharks” and a proposal to trade Connecticut. Alongside Maddow, the skit also parodied Stephanie Ruhle, Ari Melber, Joy Reid, and Chris Hayes.
The post ‘SNL’ Recap: Dave Chappelle Smokes On Stage & James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump Talks TikTok Ban appeared first on Decider.
