'Saturday Night Live' channeled the Charles Dickens classic to mock Trump's slew of legal and political troubles over the past weeks.
Saturday Night Live celebrated the holiday season with a politically charged cold open this weekend based on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.
After sitting the last few episodes out, Alec Baldwin returned to reprise his acclaimed impression of President Donald Trump.
In the sketch, Baldwin's Trump says he's in "pouty baby mode" over the ongoing investigations by Robert Mueller and fired National Security Advisor Michael Flynn's decision to plead guilty to lying to the FBI as part of a rumored deal to reveal information regarding Mueller's probe into possible Russian interference in the 2016 election.
As Trump ruminates alone in the oval office, he's soon visited by Flynn wearing heavy chains and shackles (a la Jacob Marley) who calls himself "the ghost of witness flipped." Flynn warns Trump that he's going to be visited by three other ghosts as well, starting with Billy Bush (in the role of the Ghost of Christmas Past).
"I'm here to remind you of that Access Hollywood tape, my man," a chipper Bush (played by Alex Moffat) tells Trump after appearing in a cloud of smoke. "Can you believe I got fired just for listening to you? Then you got elected president and now you're saying that that tape isn't even real? What?!"
When Trump comforts Bush and tells him he's sure he'll be able to find a job on TV again, Bush replies, "I hope so. And frankly, I'm looking pretty good in the NBC news division right about now."
Bush's biting quip refers to the termination of NBC newsman and longtime Today show host Matt Lauer, who was fired earlier this week for alleged "inappropriate workplace behavior" and was subsequently accused by numerous women of sexual harassment and sexual misconduct.
Trump is then visited by the Ghost of Christmas Present, Russian President Vladimir Putin (Beck Bennett), who tells Trump to "chill out" over his aggressive and seemingly unstable behavior.
"We put a lot of work into you," Putin says. "So much time and money, and you're about to mess it all up. You seem so volatile."
Finally, Trump is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Future in the form of Hillary Clinton, who can't help by gloat over the president's increasing legal troubles.
Kate McKinnon actually pulled double duty in this week's cold open, masterfully portraying both Clinton and Presidential Counselor Kellyanne Conway earlier in the sketch.
"You, Donald, have given me the greatest Christmas gift of all! Sexual gratification in the form of your slow demise," Clinton says, before turning a familiar chant Trump originated during his campaign against him. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to say this: Lock him up!"
RELATED CONTENT:
