November 05, 2017
After a hiatus from the live show to air the David S. Pumpkins Animated Halloween Special last week, “Saturday Night Live” returned Nov. 4 with host Larry David and musical guest Miley Cyrus.
The show was heavy on political satire and commentary in the wake of piling sexual assault allegations against public figures, including Harvey Weinstein. In the cold open, Alec Baldwin donned his well-worn Donald Trump costume as he visits Paul Manafort (played by Alex Moffat), who went into house arrest this week for charges related to Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
“What an idiot that Harvey Weinstein is,” Trump says to Manafort in the skit. “He could have gotten away with all of it if only he had gotten himself elected president.”
The sketch culminates in Trump, Manafort, Vice-President Mike Pence (played by Beck Bennet), and Jeff Sessions (Kate McKinnon) in a shower together.
In an uneven opening monologue, David also touched on the sexual assault scandals in the news, saying with a grimace, “I couldn’t help but notice a very disturbing pattern emerging that many of the predators -- not all -- but many are Jews.”
He then went even darker and pondered what it would have been like to hit on women while imprisoned in a concentration camp during the Holocaust, which has already sparked a fair amount of backlash and debate on social media.
As expected, David reprised his role of Bernie Sanders in an edition of celebrity “Price is Right.”
“I just want to say, this show is a travesty. Consumerism disguised as entertainment. That being said, I do need a new dinette set,” David said as Sanders.
Liam Hemsworth makes a cameo in the sketch to join the stage beside Cyrus, his fiancé and the night’s musical guest.
Weekend Update hosts Colin Jost and Michael Che touched on the Manafort indictment and the president’s ongoing Twitter use.
“Look, if you want to live tweet ‘Morning Joe’ or ‘Cupcake Wars’ or whatever else you watch, fine, but indictments are important and you work for us, so go put on your baggy suit, fold your hair nice, and answer all our questions face-to-face like the public servant that you are, okay?” Che said.
“We shouldn’t have to wonder if our president is communicating with us from his toilet.”
Eric and Donald Trump, Jr., depicted by Moffat and Mikey Day, respectively, also made an appearance on Weekend Update.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders wasn't safe from the “SNL” treatment this week either, as Aidy Bryant reprised the role, weaving between a press conference and a spoof of a Demi Lovato music video.
"SNL" returns Nov. 11 with host Tiffany Haddish and musical guest Taylor Swift.
