Watch: Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Sessions, Featured On Politics-Packed SNL Episode
Kate McKinnon played both Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and newly-approved Attorney General Jeff Sessions during the most recent episode of Saturday Night Live. McKinnon as Warren made an appearance on SNL after the senator was famously silenced in the Senate for reading Coretta Scott King’s letter rebuking Jeff Sessions. Warren wasted no time grilling “Weekend Update” segment host Colin Jost just like the real Warren did in Trump cabinet hearings.
Earlier in the week, before Sessions’ confirmation vote, Warren read a letter written by Coretta Scott King on the Senate floor. Warren meant the letter to be a powerful rebuke of the future attorney general, but according to CNN, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had Warren silenced for the comments.
When asked about the incident, McConnell uttered the phrase that has now become a social media trend, stating, “She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.” The statement has since evolved into #shepersisted hashtag trending on Twitter.
Warren sat on confirmation panels for a number of Donald Trump’s cabinet picks including Ben Carson, Secretary for Housing and Urban Development, and Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education. Warren has made herself known for throwing tough questions at Trump cabinet picks, and SNL was no exception.
“…You and Michael Che are credited as full cast members on the show, is that correct?” Warren asked the “Weekend Update” host. Bewildered, Jost answered yes, and Warren persisted, “Yet you only appear on a 10 minute segment…it’s called ‘Weekend Update,’ yes?” After Jost answered, Warren responded, “And yet you collect the same paycheck as a cast member who appears throughout the entire show.”
In defense of her questions, Jost asked Warren why it always seemed like the Massachusetts senator was always working. “Aren’t there any other Democrats who can help you out with this?” McKinnon as Warren said, “Well, no, it’s just me. It’s me and Bernie and Schumer…that’s Amy Schumer.”
Saturday’s episode of SNL packed in the political commentary to fit the events of the week. Warren was silenced on the Senate floor, Jeff Sessions was confirmed as attorney general, Kellyanne Conway fabricated a terrorist attack in Bowling Green Kentucky, and Donald Trump lashed out at Nordstrom’s department store for dropping his daughter Ivanka’s products.
The week’s topics were synthesized by the second appearance of Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer. McCarthy’s initial Spicer sketch was an immediate hit which inspired people to demand an entire gender-swapped cast of Trump’s White House staff.
According to Politico, Trump was offended by McCarthy’s impersonation of Spicer because she’s a female comedian. Image is very important in the Trump White House, and Spicer has been scolded for wearing an ill-fitting suit during his first press briefing and was reportedly chastised for his combative relationship with the media in general.
However, SNL fans got their wish when McCarthy returned for another “Spicey” sketch of the White House press secretary. In addition to McCarthy, McKinnon made an appearance as Jeff Sessions, pulling double political duty for the recent SNL episode.
McKinnon, like McCarthy, looked remarkably similar to the male politician she was representing. McKinnon captured Sessions, a former Alabama senator, by playing up the attorney general’s accent and folksy sensibilities. “Elizabeth Warren came at me like a porcupine,” McKinnon as Sessions said during the faux White House press briefing.
“We all know there are two kinds of crime: regular and black,” Sessions said before Spicer quickly rushed him off the stage. The skit highlighted the controversy surrounded Sessions confirmation as attorney general. In 1986, Sessions was denied a federal judgeship after he was deemed too racist to serve on that high court level.
Last night’s episode of SNL featured McKinnon as Warren and Sessions, but it also featured a skit with Alec Baldwin playing Donald Trump in “Trump Court.” SNL also launched a new video on Snapchat where Trump protesters drive themselves crazy trying to purge themselves of all the things in their lives related to Trump including Uber, Facebook, and Amazon.
[Featured Image by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP Images]
