SNL Roasts Trump, Pence, and Herschel Walker’s Debate Badge in Withering Weekend Update Barrage
Saturday Night Live‘s Weekend Update took brutal aim at former President Donald Trump, his VP Mike Pence, and his Georgia Senate hopeful protege Herschel Walker.
Rap superstar Megan Thee Stallion was the guest host and musical guest on this week’s edition of Saturday Night Live — one of only a handful of rappers to ever pull double duty, and only the second woman rapper to do so.
But many fans of the sketch show wait around just to see the musical guest — this week featured the host, as I mentioned— then catch the nightly news parody anchored by Colin Jost and Michael Che.
Weekend Update became a mainstay of I from the very first episode — on October 11, 1975 — was then called simply NBC’s Saturday Night. Chevy Chase anchored solo, and opened the sketch with a gag about disappeared Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa.
The news parody has become a tentpole of the show. In a recent interview from Chris Wallace’s series Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace on HBO Max, onetime producer Dick Ebersol told Wallace that Weekend Update was key to keeping viewers tuned in late into the show.
This week, Che and Jost took on Trump’s unhinged response to the January 6 committee, Pence’s star turn on newly-released exhibits at the hearing, and Walker’s much-derided unintentional prop comedy, among other things.
Walker faced off with incumbent Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock in a televised debate for the hotly-contested race Friday night, where he drew a flag from moderators when he pulled out a “prop” during an exchange about supporting the police.
Sen. Warnock referenced Walker’s prior false claim to have worked in law enforcement, saying, “I’ve never pretended to be a police officer.”
As Walker responded, he pulled out the badge, and was admonished by moderator Tina Tyus-Shaw.
“No, no, no, no, no,” Tyus-Shaw interrupted. “Mr. Walker, excuse me, Mr. Walker. Please, out of respect, I need to let you know, Mr. Walker, you are very well aware of the rules tonight. And you have a prop. That is not allowed. sir. I ask you to put that prop away.”
After briefly protesting, Walker complied.
Watch just the jokes above via NBC’s Saturday Night Live.
