SNL Lampoons MSNBC Hosts Losing it Over Bizarre Parody Trump Remarks in Off-the-Wall Cold Open

Saturday Night Live took on both MSNBC and President-elect Donald Trump — mocking the latter for some bizarre maneuvers and the former for their over-the-top reactions.

In an off-the-wall cold open to their first show of 2025, SNL castmember Sarah Sherman took the lead as Rachel Maddow — helming a host desk which included Joy Reid (played by Ego Nwodim), Chris Hayes (portrayed by Andrew Dismukes), Stephanie Ruhle (parodied by Chloe Fineman) and Ari Melber (Marcello Hernández).

“Dads, you better hide your older bookish lesbian daughters because, yeah, I’m back on TV,” Sherman’s Maddow said — referring to her recently announced return to a five nights per week show through April 30.

The premise of the sketch was to have the MSNBC hosts deliver a stream-of-consciousness reaction to various parody statements from Trump.

“Trump has apparently just told reporters that he would like to, ‘trade Connecticut for Italy.’ I mean, that’s just crazy!” Maddow said.

Later, Maddow reported on a parody Trump tweet about the California wildfires.

“Apparently Trump just tweeted about the fires,” Sherman’s Maddow said. “A picture of himself as the guy from ‘Up’ with the caption, ‘I would end fire by filling the “Up” house with water balloons.'”

“This man was designed by the devil to break my spirit!” Nwodim’s Reid responded.

The sketch poked fun at Melber for being a massive fan of hip-hop (“in the words of the great poet DMX, ‘y’all gonna make me lose my mind. Up in here. Up in here.'”), Hayes for being a nerd (one of his colleagues referred to him as “woke Sheldon”), and Ruhle for a flirtatious on-air delivery.

“I can’t tell if you’re doing the news or trying to hook up,” Nwodim’s Joy Reid told Fineman’s Stephanie Ruhle.

Trump himself (played by James Austin Johnson) was eventually brought in for a press conference — at which he announced George Santos (played by Bowen Yang) as his “Secretary of Fact Checking and Ambassador to Sephora.”

“If you’ll excuse me, I’m late for a date with my boyfriend, Luigi Mangione,” Yang’s Santos said,

Before ending the sketch, Maddow read one final Trump parody tweet.

“I’m stuck watching MSDNC,” the tweet said. “Awful anchors. This lineup looks like ‘Scooby Doo: Oops All Velmas.’

“He’s still got it,” Sherman/Maddow said.

Watch above, via NBC.