“Saturday Night Live” marked November’s election with a grinning kiss on President Donald Trump’s ring, but it returned to even more biting satire with a history lesson Saturday night.
The show enlisted Broadway star Lin-Manuel Miranda to reprise his role in “Hamilton” as the founder of rapping. This time, however, Miranda was shut down by James Austin Johnson’s peacocking, meandering through Trump.
Miranda’s Hamilton joined Wiggs’ cast of colonial characters for the cold open.
“What matters is the country we build,” he said. “Because in America all men are created equal. It’s America, not America. We’re doing a sequel. And we have a leader, and we don’t have anyone. In America, we have a king. No.”
Johnson’s Trump interrupted and took over.
“Never say never,” he said, “of course I’m joking.
He spoke about Trump’s efforts to end the role of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the federal government.
“The Day is over, it’s dead,” he said. “Workplaces have to go back to looking like the TV show ‘The Office.’ ”
He shifted multiple times to different times and finally landed on his inauguration.
“I was inside because of the cold and fear,” he said. “But we had a lot of surprise guests, like Melania. That was nice.”
Johnson’s Trump yelled at the billionaires in attendance.
“Zack. Bezos. Tim Apple. And, of course, Elon,” he said. “We love Elon. But to quote some of his own children, I don’t want him in my life.”
Trump then began to focus more and more on Miranda, who held his position in the shadows.
Trump pointed his thumb in the direction of the colonial character and said, “What a strange way to dress. Kind of zealous.”
He then noted Miranda’s frozen posture on stage.
“Oh, look at Lynn,” he said. “Look how much he wants to rap. … He can’t do it. Oh, the crowd would have eaten it up.”
Trump continued, focusing on Miranda’s award rack. An Emmy, Grammy and Tony winner, Miranda is close to joining an exclusive group of EGOT winners who each have at least one Oscar.
“He sniffs the EGOT range and he has to stand there until I’m done,” Trump said. “Lindy, Lindy, Lindy, Lindy…Lin Manuel Miranda Cosgrove.
Timothee Chalamet, nominated for an Oscar for his role as Bob Dylan in “Complete Unknown,” was the host and musical guest. Chalamet performed several Dylan songs.
NBC’s “SNL” and “The Office” air, a division of NBCUniversal, which is also the parent company of NBC News.
