Another weekend, another piece of political satire from Saturday Night Live amid the 2024 TV schedule. Only a few episodes into Season 50, the storied sketch comedy series has been going all in on election season. One of the biggest highlights in that regard has been the return of Maya Rudolph’s Kamala Harris. This week, another veteran SNL guest star joined, and it was none other than Alec Baldwin, who famously used to portray Donald Trump. Yet Baldwin didn’t play the former U.S. President this time around, as he was cast in a new role.
This latest episode of SNL featured a cold open that parodied Vice President Kamala Harris’ recent interview with Fox News. While Maya Rudolph reprised Harris, Alec Baldwin was tapped to play the role of Fox correspondent Bret Baier. This was a new look for Baldwin who, as he quipped while in character, looked like “someone made a businessman in Minecraft.” Once Baldwin and Rudolph’s characters got down to business, the latter began grilling the VP, though this approach was more humorous than the actual interview. Check it out:
Overall, the 30 Rock alum did a solid job in the role of Bret Baier, nailing a number of the TV journalist’s mannerisms. The actor’s deadpan delivery as Baier was particularly effective. The Mission: Impossible alum and the show’s writers also generated laughs by taking jabs at the Fox News veteran, such as when the fictional Baier expressed discomfort upon hearing words like “abortion” and “uterus.” All in all, the impression seems to have been effective based on the audience’s reactions.
Those elements aside, the sketch also featured a few other funny moments. Maya Rudolph notched some laughs due to her pop-culture infused portrayal of the VP. During the set, the fictional version of Harris alluded to the viral “demure” trend as well as the fad that’s seen people caption photos with “In da clurb, we all fam.” James Austin Johnson also made a few quick appearances of Donald Trump, which proved to be funny as well.
Alec Baldwin began playing Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live back in 2016 amid coverage of the U.S. Presidential election that year. Years ago, Baldwin revealed he was hesitant to play Trump, as he didn’t think he was the right fit for the role. He ultimately received acclaim for his turn as the politician and media personality and, in 2017, he won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his work. Trump himself slammed Baldwin’s portrayal, ahead of the actor retiring from the role in 2020.
It’s been interesting to see how SNL has gone about handling political subject matter during election season and bringing in guest stars in the process. The writers have seemingly been trying to get more creative, with last week’s episode even featuring a funny politics-themed Family Feud sketch. All the while, the series has brought in Andy Samberg, Jim Gaffigan and Dana Carvey to play First Gentleman Doug Emhoff, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and U.S. President Joe Biden, respectively.
After this episode, which was hosted by Michael Keaton and featured performances from Billie Eilish, what the show’s producers do as the election nears remains to be seen. However, if Alec Baldwin’s recent return suggests anything it’s that the creative team isn’t opposed to bringing in even more star power for its sketches. I’m curious to see what’s on the way and interested in seeing if Baldwin ever plays Bret Baier again.
Saturday Night Live returns on November 2, with John Mulaney as host and Chappell Roan as musical guest. In the meantime, stream this latest episode and others using a Peacock subscription.
