‘SNL’ was always with Trump, cast members insist in latest sketch

“Saturday Night Live” has made Donald Trump the subject of countless jokes since his first campaign.

In its first episode since Tuesday’s election, the “Saturday Night Live” cast members insisted they’ve gone from Donald Trump critics to ardent supporters.

Trump’s Nov. 5 win will land him in the White House for a second presidential term. While sketch comedy show frequently takes aim at Trump — played since 2016 by Alec Baldwin and James Austin Johnson — Saturday’s episode spoofed the actors paying fealty to the new commander in chief.

The skit started with the actors seeming disturbed.

“The results were shocking and even horrifying,” Ego Nwodim said.

Trump “tried to forcibly overturn the results of the last election,” Heidi Gardner added.

And Kenan Thompson noted that the president-elect “openly called for vengeance against his political enemies.”

In the next beat, Thompson continued later: “That is why we at ‘SNL’ would like to say to you, Donald Trump, we … have been with you all along.”

“We have never wavered in our support of you, even when others doubted you,” Bowen Yang said to laughs from the audience.

Marcello Hernández added, “Every single person on this stage voted for you.”

“Because we see ourselves in you,” Nwodim said. “We look at you and think, ‘That’s me.'”

“That’s the man I want my future children to look up to,” said Sarah Sherman.

The cast members were quick to throw each other under the bus, so to say. Colin Jost dropped the name of his co-anchor on the “Weekend Update” satirical news segment.

“Mr. Trump, your honor,” he said, “we know that you say things that are controversial sometimes, but really you’re just speaking the truth. And I hate how the lamestream media, Michael Che, tries to spin it to make you look foolish.”

Sherman described the show’s latest talents — Ashley Padilla, Emil Wakim, and Jane Wickline — as supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost the presidential race to Trump. She called them “three disgusting new cast members.”

Johnson — whose past reflections of the former president included meandering speeches about windmills and television shows — this time appeared in a muscle suit.

“That’s right, it’s me: hot, jacked Trump,” he said. “They finally got the body right.”

Johnson was nothing but supportive, saying, “He’s going to make an incredible president and eventually king.”

Trump supporter and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, played by former cast member Dana Carvey, made an appearance by jumping up and down onstage, where he touted SpaceX rockets as “super cool.”

“Check it out, Dark MAGA — yeah,” he said. “But seriously, I run the country now.”

The cast addressed what many pundits have said was the key demographic in the 2024 presidential election: young men who feel unseen.

“We say to you, young men, there’s no need to feel down,” Yang said, starting a sing-along to the introductory lines of one of Trump’s favorite songs, the Village People’s “YMCA.”

Comedian and host Bill Burr also addressed the election, telling women, “You’re 0 and 2 against this guy,” and suggesting women running for the highest office avoid pantsuits.

Burr said the highlight of campaign season was Trump’s visit to a McDonald’s, where he watched french fries being made and served people at a drive-thru window. The comedian said it was the only time he had seen Trump truly happy, “glowing,” even, as he stuffed a few extra fries into someone’s order.

“Oh, my God,” he said. “Was that empathy?”

“Saturday Night Live” and NBC News share a parent company, NBCUniversal.

News segment “Weekend Update” addressed Trump’s win with the show’s more typically acerbic humor.

“On Tuesday, we learned that Democrats don’t actually know how to rig an election,” Jost said.

He expressed faith in the Democratic Party’s ability to learn from the loss.

“I know Democrats are going to take a long look in the mirror, learn from their mistakes, and then run Biden again in 2028,” he said.

The show’s musical guest was Mk.gee.

“SNL” airs on NBC, a division of NBCUniversal, which is also the parent company of NBC News.