The fatal shooting of an American by federal agents in Minneapolis today was left out of SNL‘s cold open tonight as the Lorne Michaels-run show went all Trump all the time again, with some old pals showing up.
“You know this is such a special night, everyone wants to go home with a Trump, except Melania,” proclaimed Saturday Night Live’s James Austin Johnson as the puffed up POTUS himself in “The 1st Annual Trumps” awards skit.
Screening her Brett Ratner directed self-titled documentary tonight at the White House, the often absent First Lady was nowhere to be found in this evening’s cold open. No Melania was all the more noticeable by the fact that almost every SNL cast member was given a chance to play one of the many administration sycophants or allies — plus there was a cameo by Loki the God of Mischief as Trump’s agent (sorry Ari Emanual).
However, the real star attraction was Mike Myers back as Elon Musk — even if it was for a TV nanosecond.
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The too brief highlight of the skit’s litany of Trump sins and insecurities (that Nobel Prize), the SNL legend and proud Canadian was there as the often annoying X owner to “accept the Lifetime Achievement Award for comedy, even though he might not always intend it,” according to Johnson’s Trump’s intro of “My close ex friend Elon Musk.”
“I’m so emotionless to be here, and if anyone knows humor, it’s me,” Myers’ Musk uttered before turning things over to “Carrie Underwood and the construction worker for the Village People” for “a mournful rendition of America’s Funniest Home Videos theme.”
Truth be told, on another tragic and a mournful day in America, the cold open was off tonight, even with Myers in attendance.
Hosted by One Battle After Another star and newly minted Oscar nominee Teyana Taylor, tonight’s SNL comes after yet another killing of an American citizen Saturday by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis.
Captured in numerous videos, the shooting death of Alex Pretti, a ICU nurse, has once again found the Trump administration asserting the deceased was a “domestic terrorist.” In cruel sentiments similar to that from the January 7 death of Renee Nicole Good in the Minnesota city, various MAGA officials claimed Pretti was threatening agents with a gun. An claim that doesn’t standing up next to the clear visuals of a man who was stepping in to stop the feds from assaulting a woman. While Pretti was carrying a registered weapon, the 37-year-old was moving to take out a phone when he was attacked and then shot.
Even after a week of Trump’s ludicrous Board of Peace, Greenland deal (or not) Davos grandstanding or the upcoming bloated budget Melania documentary, it would not have been out of character for the NBC late-nighter to take a more solemn approach to today’s cold open. Additional source material could have come from Netflix’s delayed Skyscraper Live tower climbing spectacle out of Taiwan or the UFC’s debut on the Trump buddies the Ellisons owned-Paramount+ live from Sin City – but topical wasn’t where SNL really wanted to go today
The 11th show of Saturday Night Live’s 51st season, tonight is the first time Taylor has fronted the show, but likely not to be the last in a career that is taking off like a rocket to the Moon. Joining the Golden Globe winner and Academy Award hopeful as musical guest is hot ticket indie band Geese. While this is the band’s first SNL musical performance, but Geese actually made an appearance of sorts last year when singer Cameron Winter was played by the show’s James Austin Johnson (that guy again)
SNL is back next week for its 1000th show with Alexander Skarsgård hosting and the MAGA friendly Cardi B as musical guest.