Baldwin Addresses Gun Violence, Roasts Trump Over Departure Of ‘So Smart, So Hot’ Hope Hicks On ‘SNL’
Saturday Night Live returned after a brief hiatus with Alec Baldwin’s Trump addressing gun violence and mocking the departure of Hope Hicks. The 59-year-old actor returned late-night Saturday to portray President Trump, just days after the latter tweeted that he was awful with his acting and doing a crappy job of reviving his stuttering career.
The NBC variety show had been off the air for three straight weeks because of the Winter Olympics. However, it got straight to business with the issue of gun control addressed by Baldwin’s Trump alongside Vice President Mike Pence played by Beck Bennett and Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein played by Cecily Strong.
CNN is reporting that Baldwin as Trump delivered a prepared statement on gun violence, stressing that irrespective of the Second Amendment, there need to be stricter regulations on gun control. Additionally, Trump’s Baldwin underlined the importance of mental health in the aftermath of the Florida school shooting that left 17 people dead.
In another segment of the show, former NBA player and guest-host Charles Barkley ridiculed the NRA by pitching to them a pest control solution that involved arming cockroaches with tiny AR-15s. The Weekend Update segment co-hosted by Michael Che also touched on the topic, pointing out that if hunting with guns was considered a sport why didn’t deer call it “a good game?”
According to the Daily Beast, the comedy show also addressed the departure of Hope Hicks with Baldwin as Trump describing her as a daughter, “so smart, so hot.” The Trump impersonator went on to say that inasmuch as it pained him to see her go, he loved to see her walk away, leaving an open-ended conclusion for people to unravel what he meant. The actor added that with the departure of the communications director from the White House, “Jared Kusher was the hottest chic” left.
Alec Baldwin's Trump sends off Hope Hicks on #SNL: "So smart, so hot" https://t.co/X2FFdlKhFl
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) March 4, 2018
Cecily Strong, who played Hicks, also brought her dose of satire when she bid goodbye to all her friends after her “semester abroad at the White House.” The late-night comedy program is enjoying its best ratings in 22 years largely due to Alec Baldwin’s portrayal of the 45th president of the United States.
The late-night show also took a swipe at the U.S. for being lethargic with technological advancements, lamenting that even Wakanda, the imaginary African nation in the Marvel movie Black Panther, had beaten America to flying car technology.
On Friday, President Trump had called Baldwin’s impersonation of him a punishment for people compelled to watch the show. Baldwin, who was once quoted in an NME interview of getting weary of playing President Trump, in his response, promised that he would keep going until he got a “resignation speech” and “farewell helicopter ride.”
