In the Oct. 3 cold open of “Saturday Night Live,” Andrew Dismukes and Ashley Padilla play Republican strategists who have their work cut out for them to create excitement for their party.
Marcello Hernández came in first after Marco Rubio, speaking to voters in Spanish, admitted that Trump had not lived up to expectations and that his endless war had not made things better.
Mikey Day then appears as a frozen Mitch McConnell, only able to make a peace sign and nearly derailing the fourth wall of the sketch when he accidentally tries to say “Live from New York” too soon.
Vice President J.D. Vance, played by Jeremy Culhane, stops by and is mocked for his lack of charisma when he begins his camera test, saying “Hi, I’m J.D. Vance” before being dismissed.
The highlight of the sketch was the return of Colin Jost as Pete Hegseth; Hegseth was quick to drink one of Bero, which Tom Holland called “Spider-Man’s New Non-Alcoholic B-Beer.”
He also calls on Republicans to do something shocking: “I need all the patriots in the house to do the gayest thing ever and vote.”
He also noted: “I’m putting God into battle again, and it’s working. Our soldiers are praying a lot more than before.”
Trump, played by James Austin Johnson, also stopped by, saying, “Let me cook.”
He also mocked the real-life plan to compensate American voters for the Republicans’ midterm election victory, saying: “$5,000 for each voter, but that’s not a bribe because I have no intention of doing that.”
The host of the episode is Dakota Johnson, and the musical guest is Turnstile.
Watch the cold open below.