What To Know
- The SNL Season 52 premiere’s “Weekend Update” segment lampooned President Trump, highlighting his awkward behavior during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit.
- Colin Jost criticized Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s controversial remarks at a Texas A&M commencement.
- Michael Che joked about the launch of Trump TV and poked fun at Mitch McConnell’s return to Congress after a health scare, referencing his age and reluctance to retire.
The Saturday Night Live Season 52 premiere kicked off its “Weekend Update” segment by skewering President Donald Trump, mocking Pete Hegseth, Mitch McConnell, and Paramount+.
On Saturday, September 26, Colin Jost and Michael Che returned to the “Weekend Update” news desk to riff on recent headlines. Jost began by recapping Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit, during which Trump drove to “meet him at the airport like a boyfriend with no job.”
“Then Trump ordered military jets to do a flyover to project strength,” Jost added, before playing a clip of the POTUS wincing during the flyover while Xi remained stone-faced.
“I don’t know if he projected strength,” Scarlett Johansson‘s husband observed. “But it looks like he projected something.”
Elsewhere in the segment, Jost called out U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s commencement address at Texas A&M University.
“No more social experiments. Just training,” Hegseth said in a clip. “No more trannies. Just training.”
“Why were you even thinking about that, bud?” Jost asked. “This phrase sounds like something he repeats to stop himself from having uncomfortable fantasies.”
Meanwhile, Che took aim at the Trump administration announcing Trump TV after a short-lived ban on CNN, MS Now, and Politico from the White House press pool.
“The White House responded to major news networks canceling coverage of President Trump by launching a livestream called Trump TV,” he said, before joking, “But if that’s Trump TV, what the hell is Paramount Plus?”
Show titles like Tulsa King, Dutton Ranch, 1883, and Yellowstone then appeared on the screen.
Finally, Che joked about McConnell returning to his duties in Congress after a three-month hiatus following a health scare.
“A video was posted of Sen. Mitch McConnell, 84, returning to his Washington, D.C., home and giving reporters the peace symbol,” he explained. “To show what he refuses to rest in.”
Saturday Night Live, Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC