“Saturday Night Live” is back, and it sheds some light on one of the weirder moments of this week’s presidential debate.
With Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump and Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton on the “SNL” premiere, the faux debate kicked off with Trump declaring that he is “going to be so calm and so presidential that all of you are going to cream your jeans.”
Introducing @AlecBaldwin as Donald Trump. #SNLPremiere pic.twitter.com/cGy7kotJWs
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) October 2, 2016
Speaking of jeans-creaming, the biggest revelation came when Baldwin’s Trump went deeper into the story of how Trump secretly told Fox News host Sean Hannity that he was against the Iraq War while Clinton was voting in favor of it in the Senate.
“It was just me and Sean late at night. I leaned over and I whispered in his ear, ‘Sean, I’m against the war in Iraq,” and then he whispered in my ear, ‘I’m against the war, too.’ And then the next thing I knew, I was kissing Sean Hannity.”
McKinnon’s Clinton came out on stage coughing wildly, a gag about the Democratic presidential nominee’s recent bout of pneumonia. Then she rolled forward off the stage, and popped up like Willy Wonka and declared, “I’m better than ever, let’s do this!”
Perfect 10 debate entrance! #SNLPremiere pic.twitter.com/FZNpPyYzXt
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) October 2, 2016
After a parade of gaffes by Baldwin’s Trump, McKinnon started crying — but they were happy tears, she said, because the debate was going to incredibly well for her.
Though the “SNL” opener poked decidedly more fun at Trump than it did at Clinton, it certainly didn’t spare her. At one point McKinnon’s Clinton referred to her “human father” who, she claimed, was totally relatable.
There was also a gag about Clinton’s corny “Trumped-up trickle down economics” comment that landed with a thud during Monday’s debate.
“My opponent’s tax plan benefits the top one percent so much, it’s not just trickle-down economics, it’s — I don’t know, I guess if I had to call it something off the top of the old dome, with no prep whatsoever, I don’t know, I guess I’d call it Trumped-up, trickle-down economics.”
McKinnon then noted that she came up with that one “right off the stiff red cuff.”
Baldwin’s Trump responded with the standard Trump line — and a great mispronunciation.
“Our jobs are fleeing this country. They’re going to Mexico. They’re going to Ji-na,” Baldwin said, intentionally flubbing “China.”
“I will stop that,” he continued. “If Hillary knew how, she would have done it already, period, end of story. I won the debate, I stayed calm, just like I promised, and it is over. Goodbye, Hofstra.”
At which point the faux-Lester Holt pointed out there was still 88 minutes of the 90-minute debate remaining.
“My microphone is broke,” Baldwin retorted.
Check out the debate spoof in full below: