‘Saturday Night Live’ welcomes back Alec Baldwin after shooting on set fiasco

A contentious interview of Vice President Kamala Harris conducted Wednesday by Bret Baier, the chief political anchor for Fox News, was an inevitable subject of satire on this week’s Saturday Night Live.

The opening sketch that parodied this interview also marked the return of Alec Baldwin, a frequent SNL guest and host who played former President Donald Trump in SNL sketches during the 2016 presidential campaign and Trump’s time in office.

Baldwin, who played Baier in this segment, was making his first appearance on SNL since an involuntary manslaughter case against him was dismissed in July, following a New Mexico judge’s ruling that the state had withheld evidence in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on a film there.

In the sketch, Baldwin was seated opposite Maya Rudolph, in her recurring role as Harris. He introduced himself as Baier, adding, “and to clear the air, yes, I do look like someone made a businessman in Minecraft.”

He said it was a pleasure to welcome Rudolph onto Fox News, to which Rudolph replied, “The pleasure is neither of ours.”

Baldwin quickly posed a leading question to Rudolph — “Give me the exact number of murderers you let loose in this country,” he said — and he interrupted her each time she attempted to respond. “A million? Two million?” he asked, adding, “Ten million? Give me a number.”

Rudolph boasted of her success prosecuting international drug cartels. “If I was in ‘Breaking Bad’ it would have ended in three episodes,” she said.

When Baldwin accused her of trying to generate viral moments, Rudolph denied this, then turned directly to the camera and recorded a TikTok video, saying, “See how I don’t let them interrupt my answers? Very demure, very mindful.”

Baldwin threw to what he said was a previously recorded segment from a Fox News town hall with Trump (played by James Austin Johnson) and Fox News host Harris Faulkner, who asked Johnson to respond to accusations that he is unhinged and dangerous.

“I heard about that,” Johnson answered. “They said I was threatening. Not true. I would never threaten anything except perhaps violence.”

Baldwin went onto play video of Johnson dancing to the song Y.M.C.A. and a clip that he said was President Joe Biden commenting on Harris’ candidacy: It was Dana Carvey, in his role as Biden, warning: “It’s a total tragedy. I’m not kidding around. Everything she touches will be destroyed. No joke. Watch out, Florida.”

Rudolph said that Baldwin had played a misleading clip. “He’s clearly talking about the hurricane,” she said.

Baldwin also introduced the recreation of a scene from a Univision town hall Wednesday, where an audience member (played here by Marcello Hernández) asked Trump to account for his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol.

Johnson, as Trump, replied that Jan. 6 had been a day of “love and peace,” adding, “It was basically Woodstock. People were being peaceful. No one died except for the few that did.” So saying, Johnson began to dance unenthusiastically to the song It’s Raining Men.

Back at her interview seat, Rudolph was baffled. “Does he not listen to the lyrics?” she asked.

Weekend Update jokes of the week

Over at the Weekend Update desk, anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che continued to riff on the 2024 presidential race.

Jost began:

Well, the election is just 16 days away and the candidates are striking very different tones, trying to get out the vote. For example, here’s Kamala Harris.

(He played a video of Harris telling an audience, “Your vote is your voice. And your voice is your power.)

Nice. And here’s Trump.

(He showed a video of Trump telling an audience, “Get that fat pig off the couch. Tell him to go and vote for Trump. He’s going to save our country.”)

Also nice. Direct. Subtle differences you’ll notice in their styles. Like here’s Kamala’s message to women.

(He played a video of Harris saying that if Congress passed “a bill to restore reproductive freedom,” she would “proudly sign it into law.”)

OK. And here’s Trump’s closing message to women.

(He played a video of Trump saying he was “so amazed that Harvey Weinstein got schlonged.”)

So in that story he thinks Harvey Weinstein’s the one who got schlonged? By the way, I never need to hear anyone ever say “schlonged” again. But then, this week, Trump did strike a positive tone when he stopped questions at a town hall to just dance for 40 minutes. Please enjoy these somehow 100 per cent real clips. [He played various clips of Trump dancing to songs like Ave Maria and Nothing Compares 2 U.] Special. Like really special. And you can find all of those incredible songs on “Now That’s What I Call Dementia.”

Che continued:

Donald Trump appeared at a town hall hosted by Univision where he was asked questions in both English and Spanish. Which he answered in both English and louder English. During a rally in Atlanta, Donald Trump said that any Black person who votes for Kamala Harris should have their head examined. But no matter who we vote for, I promise you I am not going to therapy.

Weekend Update desk segment of the week

When SNL rookies can’t easily break through in comedy sketches, a trip to the Weekend Update can sometimes help provide them with needed visibility. Emil Wakim, a comedian in his first year as a featured player on the show, made an auspicious appearance at Weekend Update in a segment where he riffed on his heritage as a Lebanese Christian.

“When people find out I was raised Christian, I can feel them just relax a little bit,” Wakim said, adding that Christian Arabs are like “Black dudes with anime backpacks — racist guys are like, ‘I don’t love it, but I’m not going to cross the street anymore.’”

Other Weekend Update desk segment of the week

Sarah Sherman, who has made memorable use of her own Weekend Update appearances (and the tongue-in-cheek tormenting of Jost that comes with them), was back this week. In her segment, she commented on a Victoria’s Secret fashion show that had promised more inclusivity and body positivity than in years past.

Sherman, however, was not convinced and said the models who participated were “all perfect 10s.” “Where are my Midwest 4s at?” she asked, adding: “Where are my girls with anxiety hives and infected belly button rings?” Sherman said she wanted to see models wearing underwear more like her own: “A diaper, a sports bra and a giant T-shirt I got in New Orleans that says ‘New Orleans.’”