Colin Jost recently stepped away from the “Weekend Update” desk to reprise his role as an angry, aggro Pete Hegseth.
The latest episode of Saturday Night Live opened with jabs at both Donald Trump and his Defense Secretary, who in the sketch were hosting a press conference about the United States’ recent military assault on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean. Jost’s Hegseth began by chugging an energy drink before angrily declaring, “We’re now at war with Venezuela!”
Prompting a room full of faux reporters to ask him questions, he added, “Pretend I’m a random fishing boat and fire away!”
Hegseth then alternated between insulting the journalists and defending the controversial strikes. At one point, he denied real reports that he ordered a second strike on a boat that killed two survivors who had spent nearly an hour clinging to wreckage.
Saturday Night Live/YouTube
Colin Jost as Pete Hegseth in the ‘SNL’ cold open
“That kind of cruel, heartless act has no place in Operation Kill Everybody,” said Jost’s Hegseth. “I wasn’t even in the room when it happened, okay? I was so jacked up after the first strike I had to make an emergency call to my sponsor — I’m sorry, a guy I met at an anonymous meeting.”
Later, when asked for an official death toll from the lethal strikes, he told reporters, “Let’s just say if I had a drink for every Venezuelan we’ve killed, I’d really like that number of drinks.”
When one reporter pointed out that the controversial strikes have even led to President Trump distancing himself from the Defense Secretary, Jost’s Hegseth lashed out. “Unlike you beta cucks, he’s a high-energy alpha who trusts me and listens to me no matter what!” he ranted. “Isn’t that right, Mr. President?”
The camera then swung over to James Austin Johnson’s Trump… who was busy dozing in his seat. The sleepy babble that followed included a reference to Trump’s repeated meetings with New York City’s mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani.
Saturday Night Live/YouTube
James Austin Johnson as a sleeping Donald Trump on ‘SNL’
“Oh, stop. Stop Mamdani, ohh,” he muttered. “You can freeze my rent anytime.”
Last month, Trump hosted Mamdani at the White House for a lengthy meeting that some described as a love-fest. During the friendly sit-down, Trump even predicted that the Democratic Socialist will be “a really great mayor.” They parted on such good terms, in fact, that a FOX News anchor joked the meeting had left Vice President JD Vance feeling “jealous.”
Upon waking in the SNL cold open, Johnson’s Trump insisted, “I wasn’t sleeping. I’m very much awake. Now, someone quickly tell me: Where am I, who am I, and what year might it be?”
As for his loyalty to Hegseth, he quickly cleared the air, telling reporters, “I stand by Pete, and nothing can change my mind. Unless, of course, it could hurt me in any way, in which case I’ll throw him under one of Mamdani’s free buses.”
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By the end of the sketch, Johnson’s Trump fell back asleep at the podium, leading Hegseth to quiet down the questions.
“We’ve got to get him to another MRI,” he said, “before he wakes up.”
Watch the full faux press conference in the cold open above.
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