Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

SNL returned with ‘Donald Trump’ once again playing center stage

Watch the latest.

Saturday Night Live debuted last night with Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions portrayals.
Saturday Night Live debuted last night with Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions portrayals.
Portrayals of Jeff Sessions and Donald Trump on ‘SNL’ last night.
Screenshot of SNL video from YouTube

“Saturday Night Live” wasted no time bringing back its most reliable punch line.

In the first skit of the first episode of the show’s 43rd season, the show’s producers called upon Alec Baldwin yet again to reprise his Emmy-winning portrayal of Donald Trump — though this season, they’re giving him some new playmates.

Gone is Sean Spicer, the oft-embattled — and now former — White House press secretary. In is Melissa Villaseñor’s depiction of Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Spicer’s replacement, who welcomes Baldwin’s Trump back to the Oval Office from his golf course in her Southern drawl.

Expectations for NBC are massive this season after the show’s sky-high ratings, fueled largely by Baldwin’s performance. Several of the show’s most memorable skits had a viral second life on digital platforms last season.

So watch below as Trump fields phone calls from the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico — with whom Trump is feuding over the federal government’s hurricane response — praises himself for how he handled the dispute with NFL players over the national anthem, and then has a very, very close encounter with his attorney general, Jeff Sessions (once again played by Kate McKinnon.)


This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Future Perfect
The 5 most unhinged revelations from Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAIThe 5 most unhinged revelations from Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI
Future Perfect

The Musk v. OpenAI trial is over. Here are the receipts.

By Sara Herschander
Podcasts
Are humanoid robots all hype?Are humanoid robots all hype?
Podcast
Podcasts

AI is making them better — but they’re not going to be doing your chores anytime soon.

By Avishay Artsy and Sean Rameswaram
Future Perfect
The old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemicThe old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemic
Future Perfect

Glycol vapors, explained.

By Shayna Korol
Future Perfect
Elon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wantsElon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wants
Future Perfect

It’s not about who wins. It’s about the dirty laundry you air along the way.

By Sara Herschander
Life
Why banning kids from AI isn’t the answerWhy banning kids from AI isn’t the answer
Life

What kids really need in the age of artificial intelligence.

By Anna North
Culture
Anthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque messAnthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque mess
Culture

“Your AI monster ate all our work. Now you’re trying to pay us off with this piece of garbage that doesn’t work.”

By Constance Grady