Texas Senator-Elect James Talarico Crashes Donald Trump
Variety • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Texas Senator James Talarico made a surprise appearance in "Saturday Night Live's" cold open, humorously questioning the show's repeated use of Donald Trump freeze-frame segments.
- The episode opened with sketches on the recent midterm elections, highlighting Democratic victories and generational tensions within the party, before transitioning to a Trump impersonation delivering a satirical monologue.
- Talarico's appearance followed his recent election win, where he flipped a Texas Senate seat to Democrat for the first time since 1988, contributing to the so-called "blue tsunami" that secured Democratic control of Congress and governorships.
- The episode was hosted by comedian Druski, the first online content creator to host "SNL," with musical guest The Strokes; upcoming episodes feature hosts John Mulaney and Phoebe Bridgers.
- The season's Halloween episode drew the highest viewership so far with 5.2 million viewers, indicating strong audience engagement with the current "SNL" season.
