‘Hail Trump!’ SNL Cast Fetes Trump With a Mock Propaganda Tribute in Off-the-Wall Cold Open

A week after featuring Vice President Kamala Harris in a surprise cameo on the show, the entire cast of Saturday Night Live spent this weekend’s cold open groveling before Donald Trump and portraying the president-elect in a flattering new light.

“We’re so excited to debut our new impression, ‘hot, jacked Trump!’ Sarah Sherman announced as Trump impersonator James Austin Johnson took to the stage with in a black tank top with bulging muscles and a red headband, evoking Sylvester Stallone’s tough guy character Rambo.

“That’s right. that’s right. It’s me, hot, jacked Trump!” Johnson said while flexing for the audience. “They finally got the body right! But from now on, we’re going to do a very flattering portrayal of Trump because, he’s, frankly, my hero, and he’s going to make a great president and eventually king. We love you, buddy!”

Johnson then rolled his eyes and sauntered out of the spotlight.

Shortly before Johnson debuted the new Trump look, Weekend Update’s Colin Jost, known for skewing Trump’s antics on a weekly basis, blamed his co-host Michael Che for past wisecracks about Trump.

“Really, you’re just speaking the truth,” Jost said into the camera. “And I hate how the ‘lamestream media,’ Michael Che, tries to spin it to make you look foolish.”

“So, if you’re keeping some sort of list of your enemies, then —” Kenan Thompson began, before Marcello Hernández finished the thought: “We should not be on that list!”

“And it’s C-H-E, Che,” Jost added.

“And if we find out someone voted for Kamala, we will rat them out so fast,” said Bowen Yang before Sherman added, “Like our three, disgusting new cast members.”

“So, real quick, left to right, that’s Jane Wickline, Ashley Padilla, and Emil Wakim,” Thompson said as the new cast members looked nervous and sheepish. “You can find their addresses online. Hail Trump!”

“But the rest of us — hail Trump — voted for you at least once,” Hernández said, with Heidi Gardner adding, “I voted for you 50 times in Pennsylvania.”

Watch the clip above via NBC.