Hegseth Welcomes Soldiers Back From Operation Fury
Variety • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Colin Jost returned as a boisterous Pete Hegseth in Saturday Night Live’s cold open, humorously welcoming sailors home from the USS Abraham Lincoln after a nearly year-long deployment marked by difficult conditions.
- The sketch satirized the ship's issues, including broken plumbing, mental health struggles, and eight suicide attempts during the extended 322-day deployment with no port calls.
- Jost’s Hegseth mocked the Trump administration’s controversial policies and unveiled a new Department of War eagle logo resembling Nazi imagery, highlighting political absurdities.
- James Austin Johnson appeared as RFK Jr., delivering a sarcastic health update that referenced recent meat recalls and the use of sailors in product testing.
- The cold open aired two days after the real USS Abraham Lincoln returned to San Diego, with the episode hosted by Shane Gillis and featuring musical guest Rosalía.
