The Saturday Night Live cold open on October 4, 2026, turned its spotlight on the Republican Party’s mounting anxiety ahead of the midterm elections. In a sharp satire, President Donald Trump — played by James Austin Johnson, begged voters to back Republicans, insisting his $5,000 promise per American was not a bribe because he had no intention of delivering it.
Marcello Hernández portrayed Marco Rubio, who instead of rallying voters, delivered a Spanish-language message claiming Trump had tricked him into war with Iran. Mikey Day took on Mitch McConnell, appearing in a wheelchair and offering only a slow peace sign before being wheeled out. Colin Jost’s Pete Hegseth brought the absurdity to new heights with a performance of “weird slam poetry” that included lines like "No weak, no woke, no DEI, no guy-on-guy" and ended with the baffling plea: "Vote, I guess."
Trump’s final monologue was pure MAGA theater. Declaring the country a "hellhole" full of awful people and asking voters to use imagination to pretend he was on the ballot. When asked to record a victory message, he declared, "We did it! We won! Nobody has ever won so much before!" And when prompted for an alternate message in case of loss, he repeated the same line, nodding to ongoing election fraud claims.
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