‘SNL’ Cold Open spoofs signing of Declaration of Independence with Hamilton, Trump
“Saturday Night Live’s” Cold Open spoofed the signing of the Declaration of Independence, except the scene featured President Trump.
The scene began with John Hancock signing the declaration. Lin-Manuel Miranda appeared as his famous Broadway character Alexander Hamilton.
Before he was able to complete a rap, Trump appeared in the scene and the background actors were frozen.
“Never say never. Kidding, of course. Though, in many ways, I’m not,” Trump, played by James Austin Johnson, said. “But just like the Founding Fathers, I am creating a new country as well.”
“And just like them, we’re doing it very wisely,” he continued. “DEI is over. It’s dead.”
The scene referenced the first several days under Trump’s new administration, including the various executive orders he signed, and the weekend surrounded by tech billionaires.
“The inauguration was a tremendous success. It was inside due to cold and fear,” Trump’s character said. “We had a lot of surprise guests, like Melania. That was nice.”
Trump noted that he put his “nerd herd” in the front row, including Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook and close ally X and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Musk made headlines this week when he appeared to do a Nazi salute at one of Trump’s inauguration celebrations. He dismissed the criticism and Trump in the skit said it was “not true” he did the action.
“He simply was creating a new greeting. A cross between Hi and Hello. We’re calling it a Heil,” Trump said on SNL.
In the scene, Trump noted how many of former President Biden’s actions he had already undone, including efforts to advance equity for the LGBTQ community.
“No more drag, no more guys in wigs, no more whatever these guys are wearing,” Trump’s character said, pointing to the scene of Founding Fathers. “What a weird way to dress, right? A little zesty.”
He also noted the ongoing Cabinet confirmation hearings. Former Fox & Friends host Pete Hegseth was confirmed by the Senate this week, clearing the way for him to become the secretary of defense. In the scene, Trump questioned who would play Hegseth on air.
“In conclusion, it’s been a great week. I basically hit all my campaign promises, except for the one people cared about: the price of eggs. All time high,” Trump said. “Who would have thought it’d be easier to get a ceasefire in Gaza then bring down the price of eggs?”
“Might have to take the L on that one,” he said.
Topics
-
Trump fires independent watchdogs at multiple federal agencies
President Trump is facing mounting criticism after firing 18 inspectors general from federal agencies that were tasked with monitoring fraud, waste and abuse. This comes after the confirmation of ...NBC News - 1d -
Lin Manuel Miranda reprises 'Hamilton' role to join Trump during 'SNL' cold open
Lin Manuel Miranda reprised his role as Alexander Hamilton during “Saturday Night Live” where he was joined by James Austin Johnson’s version of President Trump, who made his first appearance since ...NBC News - 1d -
Trump declares energy emergency
President Trump has declared an energy emergency, which his team has said would unlock additional powers to jump-start production. Speaking about the declaration from behind the desk of the Oval ...The Hill - 6d -
Trump to declare 'national energy emergency' to open up resource extraction
President-elect Donald Trump on Monday plans to declare a “national energy emergency” that would give him authority to increase U.S. energy production, including opening up drilling in Alaska.NBC News - Jan. 20 -
Dave Chappelle called on Trump to ‘have empathy’ in SNL’s longest-ever monologue
Dave Chappelle called on Trump to ‘have empathy’ in SNL’s longest ever monologueNBC News - Jan. 19 -
‘I know you watch the show’: Dave Chappelle opens ‘SNL’ with a request for Trump
Comedian Dave Chappelle hosted "Saturday Night Live" for the fourth time, touching on a wide range of topics in his opening monologue including Sean “Diddy” Combs, the California wildfires, ...NBC News - Jan. 19 -
Chappelle calls for Trump to ‘do better,’ praises Carter in 'SNL' monologue
Comedian Dave Chappelle called for President-elect Trump to “do better” in his second term and praised former President Jimmy Carter during his “Saturday Night Live” monologue. In his opening ...The Hill - Jan. 19 -
'SNL' host Dave Chappelle weighs in on L.A. wildfires, Palestine and Trump
The first episode of 2025 was heavy on references to Los Angeles, with the fires leading Chappelle's monologue and the first skit centered on an evacuation.Los Angeles Times - Jan. 19 -
Japanese TV network to open independent probe into alleged sexual misconduct by host
Japan's Fuji Television said it will open an investigation into a high-profile sex scandal linked to one of the country's top celebritiesABC News - Jan. 17
More from The Hill
-
Watch live: House GOP leaders speak from Trump resort in Florida
House Republican leaders are set to hold a press conference on Monday afternoon to kick off the GOP's annual policy retreat in Florida. The GOP Conference is meeting at the Trump National Doral ...The Hill - 27m -
Flight to DC returns to Nigeria with injured passengers after 'unexpected aircraft movement'
A flight to Washington, D.C., returned to Nigeria after “unexpected aircraft movement” caused injuries, United Airlines said. A statement from United emailed to The Hill on Monday said that one of ...The Hill - 29m -
Judge drops order barring Rhodes, other Oath Keepers from entering DC without court permission
A federal judge on Monday walked back his order barring Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and seven other members of the right-wing extremist group from entering Washington, D.C., without the ...The Hill - 32m -
After new CIA finding, China says 'extremely unlikely' COVID-19 came from a lab
China on Monday dismissed the possibility that the virus that caused COVID-19 leaked from a lab, after the CIA said it now favors the so-called lab leak theory over natural transmission. “It is ...The Hill - 51m -
Perplexity offers updated bid for TikTok, allowing 50 percent US government stake
Perplexity AI has submitted an updated proposal to merge with TikTok that would allow the U.S. government to take a 50 percent stake in the newly formed company, a source familiar confirmed to The ...The Hill - 55m
More in Politics
-
Watch live: House GOP leaders speak from Trump resort in Florida
House Republican leaders are set to hold a press conference on Monday afternoon to kick off the GOP's annual policy retreat in Florida. The GOP Conference is meeting at the Trump National Doral ...The Hill - 27m -
Flight to DC returns to Nigeria with injured passengers after 'unexpected aircraft movement'
A flight to Washington, D.C., returned to Nigeria after “unexpected aircraft movement” caused injuries, United Airlines said. A statement from United emailed to The Hill on Monday said that one of ...The Hill - 29m -
Judge drops order barring Rhodes, other Oath Keepers from entering DC without court permission
A federal judge on Monday walked back his order barring Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and seven other members of the right-wing extremist group from entering Washington, D.C., without the ...The Hill - 32m -
After new CIA finding, China says 'extremely unlikely' COVID-19 came from a lab
China on Monday dismissed the possibility that the virus that caused COVID-19 leaked from a lab, after the CIA said it now favors the so-called lab leak theory over natural transmission. “It is ...The Hill - 51m -
Perplexity offers updated bid for TikTok, allowing 50 percent US government stake
Perplexity AI has submitted an updated proposal to merge with TikTok that would allow the U.S. government to take a 50 percent stake in the newly formed company, a source familiar confirmed to The ...The Hill - 55m