'SNL': Fred Armisen and Darrell Hammond Make Surprise Cameos at Alec Baldwin's Trump Rally

Saturday Night Live once again lampooned the chaotic political landscape in the U.S. during its [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

Saturday Night Live once again lampooned the chaotic political landscape in the U.S. during its cold open. Alec Baldwin played President Donald Trump in a parody of Trump's rally speeches. The skit included parodies of die-hard Trump supporters, with surprise cameos from two past SNL stars.

The skit took place during a rally in Albuquerque, New Mexico and began with a twist on Trump's remarks about building a wall in Colorado "to keep the New Mexicans out." This inspired Trump to bring out a map of how Trump apparently sees the world, with California out in the ocean. Trump then went through many of his usual talking points before bringing out supporters played by the other cast members. Kate McKinnon even came out as Sen. Lindsey Graham.

In a big shocker, Darrell Hammond came out to reprise his impression of President Bill Clinton. Fred Armisen played Turkey's President Tayyip Erdoğan as his last supporter.

The writers have been using the cold open slot exclusively for political-themed sketches, usually bringing in surprise guest stars. Last week's skit made fun of the CNN town hall with the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates that centered on LGBT issues. Pose star Billy Porter was brought in as an emcee, while Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda played Julain Castle. Woody Harrelson, who debuted his impersonation of Vice President Joe Biden in the episode he hosted, played Biden again in the skit.

At the start of Phoebe Waller-Bridge's episode earlier this month, Matthew Broderick suddenly showed up to play Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. He even made sly references to Ferris Bueller's Day Off, telling Beck Bennett's Vice President Mike Pence, "Impeachment moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around, you might miss it."

In the Season 45 premiere late last month, SNL poked fun at Trump's response to the House of Representatives' impeachment inquiry, centered on Trump's call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In the skit, Baldwin came back to play Trump, who called several people in his orbit for help. He even called Liev Scheiber, asking for Ray Donovan's help. The actor, who made an unannounced appearance on the show, reminded Trump that Ray Donovan is a fictional character.

Coincidentally, Hammond, who now works as SNL's announcer, is also known for playing Trump. The president has given Hammond better reviews than Baldwin.

"Alec Baldwin, whose dying mediocre career was saved by his terrible impersonation of me on SNL, now says playing me was agony," Trump tweeted in 2018. "Alec, it was agony for those who were forced to watch. Bring back Darrell Hammond, funnier and a far greater talent!"

This week's episode was hosted by Chance the Rapper, who also performed.

SNL airs Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Kristen Stewart will host the Nov. 2 episode, with Coldplay performing.

Photo credit: NBC

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