‘SNL’ cruelly mocks President Trump in Minneapolis, Venezuela
On the first episode of “Saturday Night Live” this year, cast members mocked President Trump over his response to the ICE shootings in Venezuela and Minneapolis.
Pete Davidson returned to “Saturday Night Live” and addressed the ongoing political turmoil over immigration during a cold segment of the show.
The former cast member returned to play White House border czar Tom Homan in a sketch that tackled political unrest in Minneapolis. President Donald Trump recently sent Homan there to lead immigration operations.
In the sketch, Davidson’s Homan speaks to a room full of confused U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, growing frustrated as they try to explain why they shouldn’t use force against protesters or destroy evidence.
After Davidson’s Homan said ICE’s mission in Minneapolis is to “detain and deport illegal immigrants who have committed crimes,” one staff member said this was “literally the first time I’ve heard this.”
When he asked the agents what they were looking for in Minneapolis, the ICE agent replied, “Epstein files?”
“No, we actually just released them to distract from this thing,” said Davidson as Homan. “This is ironic, because we did this to distract from them.” On January 30, the Justice Department released another 3 million pages of Jeffrey Epstein’s files, including 2,000 videos and 180,000 images.
‘SNL’ cold open with Pete Davidson tackles ongoing ICE raid and Don Lemon arrest
Homan then emphasized that ICE officers should not use force and asked, “What is your job, at the end of the day, to protect America?”
“Maybe not, but Don Lemon?” the ICE officer responded, referring to the former CNN anchor’s arrest.
Lemmon, now an independent journalist, was arrested on January 29 for reporting on immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota. Another journalist, Georgia Fort, and political activists Traherne Gene Cruz and Jamael Rydell Lundy were also arrested.
Lemon was one of several journalists who attended the Jan. 18 protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. During a nearly seven-hour livestream on his YouTube channel at the time, he spoke with congregants, protesters and one of the church’s pastors.
“My constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis is no different than what I’ve always done,” Lemon said in response to his arrest. He was released late Friday.
‘SNL’ cold open begins as American protests against ICE increase
Davidson’s Homan also asked officials who say demonstrators shouldn’t have guns: “How many people went to the ‘Stop the Steal’ protests with loaded automatic weapons?”
The ICE agent played by James Austin Johnson finally concludes, “You hired a bunch of angry, aggressive men, gave us guns, and didn’t train us. Maybe this is what you wanted?”
The sketch ended with Davidson giving an emotional speech asking the agents if they could do their job “without violating our rights as Americans,” to which Kenan Thompson’s agent simply said “no.”
“Well, I had to ask,” said Homan of Davidson. “Should I make sure I don’t get photographed?”
Tonight’s “SNL” cold open comes as anti-ICE protests continue in the United States after federal agents shot and killed Alex Preti and Renee Good.
of The previous episode of “SNL” on Jan. 24 began with the following sketch: President Donald Trump, during Johnson’s administration, hosted an awards ceremony reminiscent of the Oscars. The episode received backlash from some fans for how it nearly avoided the murder of Preti, who was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis on the same day.
The opening sketch on Jan. 24 only alluded to the events in Minneapolis when Johnson, as Trump, said he was trying to distract from “what all my little weirdos and psychotics at ICE are doing.”
Later in the show on January 24, Minneapolis was briefly mentioned in a sketch depicting “Weekend Update” and the PBS news program. “To not even mention the absolute horror of today and last month is a slap in the face,” one fan wrote on the “SNL” subreddit after the episode aired, garnering thousands of upvotes.
“SNL” further discussed Minneapolis on tonight’s “Weekend Update,” with anchor Colin Jost saying he doesn’t think Homan is “calming things down.”
“This feels like taking up crack and trying to quit cocaine,” Jost quipped.
Who else was on “SNL”?
Alexander Skarsgard made his SNL hosting debut on the January 31st episode, which featured Cardi B as a musical guest.
Skarsgård stars in Charli XCX’s new mockumentary The Moment and the dark comedy Pillion, while Cardi B is set to release her album Am I the Drama? In September.
Skarsgard’s father, Stellan Skarsgård, also participated during the episode, as did “30 Rock” star Jack McBrayer in a cameo role.
Who will be the next “SNL” host?
“SNL” returns on February 28th with host Connor Story and musical guests Mumford & Sons.
Contributors: Melina Khan and Joey Garrison, USA TODAY
