Senator-elect James Talarico walks into SNL’s Trump sketch, on the night Druski becomes the first online creator to host

Four days after he flipped a Senate seat Democrats had not won in Texas for almost four decades, James Talarico was on the stage of Studio 8H, helping SNL mock the president he had just campaigned against.

The senator-elect appeared as himself in the cold open of Saturday’s episode, the show’s first since Tuesday’s midterm elections, which handed Democrats control of Congress.

What happened in the sketch?

The scene opened on Sarah Sherman as Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Kenan Thompson as House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, celebrating the results and claiming the credit for finding every winning candidate.

Then, in a device the show has used again and again, the action froze and James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump stepped forward to talk to the audience. This time Trump was lamenting not the losses themselves so much as the prospect of two years of working with millennials, before a rant about millennial tastes that took in the sitcom New Girl and mason jar weddings.

Talarico cut him off. Voters, he said, wanted something new and different, then turned the line on the show itself, asking how many more freeze cold opens SNL intended to do.

“Infinity,” Johnson’s Trump replied.

Weekend Update co-host Colin Jost also appeared as Pete Hegseth, now Secretary of War, insisting no election would stop him.

Why does a cameo like this matter?

SNL has a long habit of putting politicians in on the joke at moments when they are the story, and few people in American politics are a bigger story this week than Talarico. The former teacher and state representative beat Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton in what was reported as the most expensive non-presidential race in US history, despite Trump’s endorsement of Paxton.

His win ended a run going back to 1988 in which Texas Democrats lost every US Senate race. On the same night, Republican Governor Greg Abbott conceded to Democrat Gina Hinojosa.

Who is Druski, and why is his hosting a first?

Druski is a Maryland-born comedian known for satirical online videos and over-the-top characters, including the Coulda Been Records audition parodies. He has about 13.7 million followers on Instagram, 15.6 million on TikTok and more than 6 million YouTube subscribers, and he hosted the BET Awards in June. NBC says he is the first digital content creator to host SNL.

He opened by calling the night a dream and introducing his family in the audience. Emma Stone, his co-star in the coming romantic comedy The Catch, then walked on and corrected his suggestion that they play love interests in the film.

Reviews of his debut were mixed, with some viewers saying they were more excited for the band.

What did The Strokes play?

The New York band, in their fifth appearance as SNL’s musical guest, played Lonely in the Future and Going Shopping.