With just over 10 weeks to go until Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, the stars of Saturday Night Live know they’ve got some making up to do—and fast. So they opened up Saturday’s post-election edition with a tribute to the incoming POTUS.
Bowen Yang, Ego Nwodim, Kenan Thompson, Heidi Gardner, Marcello Hernández, and Sarah Sherman opened the latest episode with what at first appeared to be a serious message about the results of the 2024 presidential election. Until Thompson, speaking on behalf of the entire show, offered the following statement directly to Trump: “We have been with you all along.”
“We have never wavered in our support of you,” added Yang. “Even when others doubted you.”
“Every single person on this stage believed in you,” swore Sherman.
“Every single person on this stage voted for you,” added Hernández, upping the ante.
“Because we see ourselves in you,” explained Nwodim.
Colin Jost then joined his colleagues to share how much he hates that “the lamestream media—Michael Che—tries to spin it to make you look foolish.” (He also spelled Che’s last name, just to make sure Trump got it right.)
Ultimately, the cast wanted to assure Trump that they have his back. And that if he is working on some sort of enemies list, “we should not be on it,” according to Hernández.
Nwodim took it even one step further, explaining that “Ninety-two percent of Black women voted for Kamala. But I was one of the proud eight percent. For me, it’s brother Donald X. Trump all the way.”
James Austin Johnson, who has been SNL’s resident Trump portrayer since 2021, also made sure to try and score some points by debuting a new version of the president-elect: “Hot, jacked Trump.”
SNL cast members share a post-election message pic.twitter.com/jTXqJCxpIL
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) November 10, 2024
The newest cold open is a break from what we have seen in every episode so far in Season 50: a political sketch featuring Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris, Andy Samberg as Doug Emhoff, Dana Carvey as Joe Biden, and Jim Gaffigan as Tim Walz. Carvey did appear in this week’s cold open—this time as the world’s richest person/Trump’s new BFF Elon Musk.
No word on whether we’ll see Rudolph, Samberg, or Gaffigan back in the roles they’ve been playing so far this season.
