‘SNL’ Rehashes Every Single One of President Donald Trump’s Scandals With Woody Harrelson

Saturday Night Live had a lot to catch up on in its season premiere this week, although to one character, it was generally more of the same. The show did a parody of a political talk show with guest star Woody Harrelson, where just about every Trump administration scandal got the same response.

SNL rehashed all the biggest headlines about President Trump that the show missed in its off-season. They started with the most recent story — the beginning of impeachment proceedings — then reflected to other big stories of the summer, such as the publishing of the full Mueller report.

“I’ve got to say, this feels like a real turning point in the Trump presidency,” said Harrelson, playing a political expert.

“You know, it’s gratifying to see our system of checks and balances finally working the way it’s intended,” said Cecily Strong.

“Ain’t nothing going to happen,” said Kenan Thompson, simply.

The parody show, “Inside the Beltway,” featured a regular panel of journalists and political experts. Aidy Bryant hosted as Denise Craw, while Strong played another TV anchor named Connie Brasheres. Harrelson’s character, Walter Dale, was a writer for a Texas newspaper, and Thompson played a professor of African-American studies named Quincy Maddox.

The through line of the piece, of course, was that Thompson’s character was too jaded to believe that President Trump would face any real consequences for any of these scandals. The show essentially accused mainstream anchors of naiveté, saying that it was absurd to believe that the U.S. government’s systems of checks and balances would really bring down President Trump.

In the process, SNL got to give a nod to the major stories it missed over the summer. It touched on the president’s personal scandals, such as the ongoing questions of his personal infidelity and alleged sexual misconduct, as well as political shake-ups like his alleged knowledge of Russian campaign interference.

“Oh snap!” Thompson said sarcastically. “Well, if that’s true, ain’t nothing going to happen.”

The skit was one of the most notable of the night, as it included the show’s first big production fumble of the year. Near the end, the cast underwent a quick costume change for a flashback. For one long shot, a production assistant could be seen on screen, trying to change Bryant’s jacket on live TV. This set Bryant to giggling, and nearly overshadowed Thompson’s final punchline.

SNL has been heavy on political commentary in the last several years, and it shows no signs of slowing down now. The new season premiere was full of topical jokes about the Trump administration and the 2020 election. Saturday Night Live will be back next weekend at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC.