Overview
- Saturday Night Live opened its second episode of season 52 with a cold open that lampooned President Trump and Republican midterm strategy through a series of caricatured campaign spots.
- Colin Jost returned as Pete Hegseth and chugged a mock Tom Holland–branded beer while urging viewers to “do the gayest thing ever and vote,” a line played for shock and partisan satire.
- James Austin Johnson’s Trump impersonation mocked a reported GOP pledge by saying “$5,000 for every voter, but it’s not a bribe because I have no intention of doing it,” turning the policy claim into a punchline.
- The sketch also featured caricatures of Marco Rubio, Mitch McConnell and J.D. Vance played by Marcello Hernández, Mikey Day and Jeremy Culhane, with jokes aimed at their personalities and campaign roles.
- Deadline and Variety reported the same key beats and noted episode context — Dakota Johnson as host, Turnstile as musical guest, and a West Coast delay for college football — underscoring the sketch’s topical focus on the approaching midterms.