Saturday Night Live once again delivered a political-themed cold open sketch, after another eventful week in Washington, D.C. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate ended with him being acquitted. The day before, Trump delivered a State of the Union address filled with reality TV-style moments. The show parodied Friday night’s ABC News Democratic debate.
Several guest stars returned, with Jason Sudeikis as former Vice President Joe Biden, Rachel Dratch as Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Larry David as Sen. Bernie Sanders. The candidates started off by reacting to the messy Iowa caucus.
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“I can’t believe all this mess happened in Iowa because of an app!” Sanders complained. “Hey, I have an idea for an app. It’s called no apps. No apps. No computers. No gadgets. No gizmos. You show up to your polling place, take a number like you do with the butcher and they call your ticket. You walk up to the counter and say to the guy, ‘Gimme a pound of whatever’s about to go bad.’”
The candidates talk Iowa at the New Hampshire Democratic Debate. #SNL pic.twitter.com/18ZDr5k5q4
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) February 9, 2020
Regular castmembers Bowen Yang, Colin Jost, Kate McKinnon and Pete Davidson were also featured in the sketch.
“I dont want to talk about Iowa any more,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (McKinnon) said. “Let’s talk about the here and now. I am very confident about my chances in New Hampshire. I tend to really connect with New England moms who own big dogs and rock a fleece vest seven days out of the winter. Look, New Hampshire, your state border might be kissing Vermont, but your a— is resting on Massachusetts. So come on over.”
Dratch later performed Shakira’s tongue-wagging move from the Super Bowl LIV halftime show, directing it Trump’s way.
At the end, Biden was told he has 60 seconds for his closing statement.
“What? No! The doctor said I had six to eight months,” Biden said.
“No, I meant for your closing statements,” the moderator, played by Mickey Day, corrected him.
“Oh all right, then I guess there’s only one thing left to say,” he said. “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”
This week’s cold open followed last week’s, which imagined how the Senate trial would have played out if TV Judge Greg Mathis, played by Kenan Thompson, presided over the trial instead of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. The biggest change would have been witnesses, which were not allowed during the real-life trial.
Trump was on trial after the House of Representatives impeached him for withholding Congressionally-approved aide to Ukraine until the government there launched an investigation into Biden and his son Hunter Biden. The Senate voted along party lines to acquit Trump, although Republican Sen. Mitt Romney agreed with Democratic senators that Tump abused his power.
The acquittal came a day after an eventful State of the Union, where Trump pulled off several surprises while delivering his address. Among them was his controversial decision to give conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
SNL‘s next new episode will air on Feb. 29, with comedian John Mulaney hosting and David Byrne performing. This will be Mulaney’s third time hosting, following episodes in April 2018 and March 2019. This will also mark Byrne’s first time on the show since 1989.
On March 7, Daniel Craig will return to host for the first time since 2012. The Weeknd is scheduled to perform for the first time since 2016.
SNL airs at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC Saturdays.
Photo credit: Will Heath/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
