Tom Hanks returned to “Saturday Night Live” on Halloween night to revive his David S. Pumpkins lounge persona in a cold open that skewered President Trump’s increasingly bizarre comments about the stump and his fixation on men’s physiques.
The segment also featured Saidah Belo-Osagie as Nicki Minaj in a parody of the star’s vocal support for Trump and his MAGA movement. The move made Minaj Trump’s next choice for press secretary, on the heels of Katie Zacharia’s spectacularly quick exit from the role earlier this month.
The segment opened with Grace Reiter and Jeremy Culhane as a young couple taking a ride in a Halloween celebration at a low-end amusement park. Kenan Thompson then appears in a ghoulish Grim Reaper costume to guide the couple through a series of frightening scenes. Pumpkins, the character Hanks first created for the series in 2016, appeared with a silly dance routine accompanied by Mikey Day and a special appearance by former “SNL” trouper Bobby Moynihan. Day and Moynihan wore full skeleton sweaters with white face paint.
As the race continued, James Austin Johnson appeared as President Trump, who stepped in to interrupt the race and lament that Republicans were set to take a beating in the November 3 midterm elections. The segment then launched into a series of surprisingly risky jokes about Trump’s unusual obsession with the buttocks of candidates he has supported as he held a series of campaign rallies in recent weeks.
“We both showed up in 2016. We’re both very loud, very orange and, frankly, very annoying,” Johnson said as Trump. “Good acting, great ass. Great ass on Hanks – something I’ve been enjoying admiring lately. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Just that I might be gay.”
Trump then complained that “the midterm elections are Tuesday. The polls say we’re doing really bad – aww aww. They say Texas is turning purple, just like my hand.” Johnson then raised his hand to show a gigantic bruise. Johnson, as Trump, called Texas Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Ken Paxton a “nasty son of a bitch” but urged voters to choose him over Democrat James Talarico. Trump acknowledged that Talarico is “much prettier. What a dynamic ass.”
As Trump spoke, the other actors on stage were in freeze mode. Thompson’s character, Grim Reaper, left the stage and rushed in front of Johnson as Trump. Trump called out “thanks for the donation,” to which Thompson responded, “Yeah, you wish, bitch.”
Belo-Osagie entered the segment as Minaj near the end as Trump praised her dedication to the cause. “Trump is here to kill it — and by that, I mean my career,” Belo-Osagie said as Minaj. Trump noted that Minaj is well known for her curvy rear end: “Maybe if it was on a man I could admire it,” Johnson remarked as Trump did.
In closing, Trump brought out Zacharia who botched his attempt to deliver the opening line of “SNL,” “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night.”
The Halloween installment of “SNL” is hosted by “Obsession” star India Navarrette, with Gracie Abrams as musical guest.
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