The writers and cast of “Saturday Night Live” have never made a secret of their political affiliations. Their latest skit, a spoof on Fox News and former president Donald Trump which depicts them hosting a fundraiser for Russia and Vladimir Putin, only further proves that point.
For the “SNL” cold open this weekend, actors played out a faux telethon hosted at Trump’s Florida-based Mar-a-Lago club resort. The “Ukrainian Invasion Celebration Spectacular,” was headlined by Fox News’ Tucker Carlson (played by Alex Moffat) and Laura Ingraham (Kate McKinnon).
“I’m Tucker Carlson, and I’m like if a pair of boat shoes came to life,” Alex Moffat’s Carlson began the skit, which aired March 5.
“I’m Laura Ingraham. When I watch Harry Potter, I root for Voldemort,” Kate McKinnon’s version of Ingraham said.
“We got into a weird little bit of trouble for all the nice things we said about Russia and the mean things we said about Ukraine,” Moffat continued.
They went on to explain how they were also scolded for saying they found the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, pathetic because he stayed and fought with his people.
“I kept saying we should be more worried about our own border getting invaded by Mexico,” Moffat said. “But in my defense, I am racist, so I thought that was true.”
Meanwhile, Trump (played by James Austin Johnson) was stationed on the phones doing ineffective sales pitching. In their version of events, he’s the current president during the Russian invasion as well. He talked about Rihanna’s pregnancy fashion, whales, and the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” reboot. At one point, Ingraham admits that there’s only a dial tone at the other end of the phone.
Steven Seagal (Bowen Yang) also shows up to help his “pal,” Vladimir Putin and drink a McDonald’s shamrock shake.
“Let’s check back in with the man who said Putin’s invasion was ‘very smart’ and also said China should invade Taiwan next,” McKinnon says. “Mr. President?”
Johnson is on the phone talking about his favorite food, bread, at this point. Then Moffat as Carlson promises to send each Russian soldier a “Fox News Care Package” including a My Pillow, a 6 month subscription to LifeLock, and ten American flag catheters.
Next, Donald Trump Jr. (Mikey Day) and Kimberly Guilfoyle (Cecily Strong) perform a pro-war duet cover of Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper song “Shallow” before getting cut off early. Day pretends to be high on cocaine and asks if there’s “a bathroom with a mirrored counter nearby.”
“Of course there is, it’s Mar-a-Lago,” Moffat as Carlson tells him.
Johnson as Trump concludes the bit by pretending to serenade Putin with an off-key version of Frank Sinatra’s “My Funny Valentine.”
“Putin has just criminalized free speech,” McKinnon tells the tel-a-thon audience. “He’s shut down all independent news organizations.”
“So I’m thinking, can we please do that to CNN?” Moffat jokes.
“Every time I laugh, an angel dies,” McKinnon deadpans.