Saturday Night Live opened its Nov. 7 episode with James Austin Johnson's Donald Trump reeling from a punishing midterm defeat at the hands of Democrats, but the cold open's biggest moment belonged to a real politician. Texas senator-elect James Talarico walked out as himself at the end of the sketch, drawing gasps and cheers from the Studio 8H audience.
"I'm James Talarico, the guy who's been texting you every day asking for five dollars," he said, poking fun at the grassroots fundraising machine that helped power his campaign. Johnson's Trump muttered a meta jab behind him: "In this economy, who can blame you?" A moment later, Talarico joined Johnson in delivering the iconic "Live from New York" line.
Talarico defeated his Republican opponent Ken Paxton by 12 points in the most expensive race in the history of the United States Senate. The result turned a Texas Senate seat blue for the first time in over 30 years.
Before the cameo, Johnson's Trump had been wallowing in his character's anti-moment. "I didn't even say it was rigged," he said of the election tallies. "I accepted the results, which is even scarier in a way. It's like, 'What the hell is he planning?'" He added that he only cared about his newly redesigned White House ballroom, before letting slip under his breath, "Oh my God, I hate my life."
The sketch began with Sarah Sherman as Chuck Schumer and Kenan Thompson as Hakeem Jeffries claiming credit for victories that were only partly their doing, then laying out their post-midterm plan. "As our first order of business we are going to march right up to Donald Trump, look him right in the eye and say, 'Knock it off buster,'" Thompson's Jeffries said, mocking the perceived ineffectuality of current Congressional Democratic leadership. When the pair asked who was really responsible for the wins, Johnson's Trump appeared to claim upside-down credit with a single word: "Me." Voters handed the president and his party sweeping losses, as Democrats gained at least 42 seats in the House and seven in the Senate, rejecting both Trump's policies and his personality, particularly on the economy.
Talarico's surprise turn echoed past political drop-ins, including Kamala Harris appearing opposite her impersonator Maya Rudolph in 2024 and unexpected visits from Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin more than a decade ago, though a cameo by a sitting senator or senator-elect is rarer. The moment reflected the rising media celebrity of a new class of Congressional Democrats, many in their 30s or early 40s. Johnson's Trump, at least, is unimpressed. "The next few years are going to be horrible," he said, pausing a beat. "It's not that they're Democrats; it's that they're Millennials," he added, lamenting the return of generational staples like "adorkable" and the show New Girl.
Writers handed Talarico one of the sketch's best exchanges when he turned the spotlight on SNL itself. "People want something new; they want something different," he said, seemingly talking electoral politics before clarifying, "I'm talking about SNL's cold opens," and asking Trump's impersonator how long he planned to keep the act going. "Infinity," Johnson's Trump replied. Johnson, who has played the president in the cold open seemingly every week since Trump returned to office, told The Hollywood Reporter last year: "I don't want to call what I'm doing Shakespeare, but I am trying to find the deeper forms of Trump, who is a rich text."
The sketch may also have doubled as a farewell to Colin Jost's well-regarded Pete Hegseth impression, with the defense secretary rumored to be leaving the administration. "Do I look like a person who gets less crazy when backed into a corner?" Jost asked upon entering, adding, "I live a YOLO life: you only lose often," before sashaying off backside first in a nod to the new Trumpian rumpian obsession.
For Talarico, the appearance served as a bookend and a bit of sweet revenge. In September, broader threats from FCC chair Brendan Carr led ABC and Jimmy Kimmel to move the then-candidate's Jimmy Kimmel Live! appearance off broadcast television and onto YouTube, a decision both Kimmel and Talarico condemned. The ostensible rationale was an equal-time provision tied to his candidacy, even though candidates from both parties have long appeared on late-night shows. With Talarico now officially a senator-elect, the issue is moot. Druski hosted the Nov. 7 episode.
