James Talarico, the Texas Democrat whose victory in Tuesday's U.S. Senate race was once considered improbable in the Republican stronghold, made a surprise appearance to help open the latest episode of "Saturday Night Live."
Talarico, a state lawmaker and seminarian, defeated Attorney General Ken Paxton in one of a wave of wins for Texas Democrats, who captured every statewide office up for grabs, including state Rep. Gina Hinojosa's victory in the governor's race, ending a drought that stretched back decades.
The show's cold open featured New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, played by Kenan Thompson, and Sen. Chuck Schumer, played by Sarah Sherman, celebrating Tuesday's results, which helped position Jeffries as the likely House speaker in January.
Sherman's Schumer introduced the pair as "establishment Democrats" and asked, "Do we even know how to lose?" Thompson's Jeffries conceded, "Yes," but proposed a toast to victory anyway. "We flipped the House, we flipped the Senate, and how did we do it?" he said.
"Me!" interrupted President Donald Trump, played by James Austin Johnson, crashing the celebration. The character described the Democratic wave as a "blue Toonami," a nod to Cartoon Network's late-night anime programming block, and indicated he would not challenge the midterm results. "I accepted the results, which is almost scarier in a way," he said. "It's like, 'What the hell is he planning?' I'll tell you what I'm planning: Ballroom."
The Trump character said he hoped voters enjoyed the election's outcome, including the Texas victory by the man he calls "Talafreako."
The real Talarico then stepped into the spotlight in front of Trump to loud applause from the show's New York City studio audience. "Hi, America," he said. "I'm James Talarico, the guy who's been texting you every day asking for $5." Trump responded, "In this economy, who can blame you?"
Talarico, who campaigned on battling wealth disparity and political corruption, suggested working with the Republican president to "make life better for everyday Americans." Then he pivoted: "It's clear people want something new. They want something different. I'm talking, of course, about 'SNL's' cold opens."
The senator-elect suggested viewers were tired of the comedy show's political cold-open sketches, asking, "How many of these Trump freezers are they going to do?" "Infinity," Trump responded. The two then joined voices to deliver the show's trademark introduction, "Live from New York .. "
"SNL" airs on NBC, a division of NBCUniversal, which is also the parent company of NBC News.
