Current:Home > Scams'SNL' skewers vice presidential debate, mocks JD Vance and Tim Walz in cold open-InfoLens
'SNL' skewers vice presidential debate, mocks JD Vance and Tim Walz in cold open
View Date:2024-12-23 11:31:14
Live from New York, it's the first, and possibly only, "Saturday Night Live" debate sketch of the 2024 election.
The show's latest cold open skewered this week's vice presidential debate, with Jim Gaffigan returning as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Bowen Yang again playing Sen. JD Vance. The sketch featured Vice President Kamala Harris, played by Maya Rudolph, nervously watching alongside her husband Douglas Emhoff (Andy Samberg).
Both candidates dodged a question about the crisis in the Middle East as the debate sketch began, with Vance avoiding giving an answer and Walz simply saying "the word fundamental a bunch." Harris quickly started getting worried about her running mate's performance, but Emhoff assured her Walz wouldn't "say something crazy."
"I've become friends with school shooters," Walz then said, leading a shocked Harris to break her wine glass. (Walz made this remark during the debate but later told NBC News he was "talking about meeting people where there are school shooters.")
The sketch also mocked Walz for claiming he was in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square protests.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
"So I think what happened is, I went to Epcot," Gaffigan's character said. "You can go around the whole world, and I had a couple in the Germany section, and I thought I went to China. Anyway, I'm a knucklehead."
Vance also took his fair share of jabs, with Yang's character declaring that when he said former President Donald Trump might be America's Hitler, he "meant that as a compliment." Later, he repeatedly declared there could be no fact-checking of his statements as he insisted that Trump "peacefully gave over power."
"If we're allowed to stand up here and lie, then I would like to say I actually was in Tiananmen Square," Gaffigan's Walz responded.
SNL' returns with Jim Gaffiganas Tim Walz, Dana Carvey as President Biden
The sketch also depicted Vance and Walz as seeming to recognize some surprising common ground, with the two candidates at one point staring into each other's eyes as music played to indicate they were connecting. After spitting out her wine, Rudolph's Harris asked, "Why are they friends? Why are they vibing?"
Dana Carveytalks 'top secret' Biden role on 'SNL': 'I've kept it under wraps for weeks'
But by the end, Rudolph's Harris was elated by Vance declining to state that Trump lost the 2020 election, and the sketch suggested this was a last-minute victory for Walz. "Honey, we did it!" Emhoff said. "We got the sound bite!" Harris, meanwhile, pronounced the debate a "huge victory" because it "made no difference!"
For the later portion of the sketch, Dana Carvey's President Joe Biden joined the debate watch party and criticized Walz's performance. "The vice president doesn't matter," he said dismissively while eating an ice cream cone. "I mean, who the hell was Obama's VP? Nobody knows!"
Another highlight from Saturday's episode was the return of The Lonely Island, who in a digital short debuted a new song about a bizarre business idea where people can be fed sushi through a hole in a bathroom stall.
"SNL" will return next week with an episode hosted by Ariana Grande with musical guest Stevie Nicks.
veryGood! (95442)
Related
- Chipotle unveils cilantro-scented soap, 'water' cup candles in humorous holiday gift line
- So-called toddler milks are unregulated and unnecessary, a major pediatrician group says
- FBI: Thousands of remote IT workers sent wages to North Korea to help fund weapons program
- Too much red meat is linked to a 50% increase in type 2 diabetes risk
- AI could help scale humanitarian responses. But it could also have big downsides
- Feds OK natural gas pipeline expansion in Pacific Northwest over environmentalist protests
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom to make a one-day visit to Israel en route to China
- Michigan Republican charged in false elector plot agrees to cooperation deal
- Fantasy football buy low, sell high: 10 trade targets for Week 11
- Hurricanes are now twice as likely to zip from minor to whopper than decades ago, study says
Ranking
- Walmart Planned to Remove Oven Before 19-Year-Old Employee's Death
- Kansas is poised to boost legislators’ pay by $28,000 in 2025, nearly doubling it
- Apple introduces a new, more affordable Apple Pencil: What to know
- Sterigenics will pay $35 million to settle Georgia lawsuits, company announces
- Charles Hanover: Caution, Bitcoin May Be Entering a Downward Trend!
- Elephant dies after dog ran around Saint Louis Zoo
- 'I didn't like that': Former Lakers great Michael Cooper criticizes LeBron James for eating on bench
- In big year for labor, California Gov. Gavin Newsom delivers both wins and surprises
Recommendation
-
Trump has promised to ‘save TikTok’. What happens next is less clear
-
Earthquake country residents set to ‘drop, cover and hold on’ in annual ShakeOut quake drill
-
Phoenix Mercury hire head coach with no WNBA experience. But hey, he's a 'Girl Dad'
-
Suspect in custody in theft of Vermont police cruiser and rifle
-
Jerry Jones lashes out at question about sun's glare at AT&T Stadium after Cowboys' loss
-
Anne Kirkpatrick, a veteran cop but newcomer to New Orleans, gets city council OK as police chief
-
Asylum seekers return to a barge off England’s south coast following legionella evacuation
-
As a kid, Greta Lee identified with Val Kilmer — now, she imagines 'Past Lives'