This week's 'SNL' cold open poked fun at the GOP defense of the former president.
Saturday Night Live came out swinging on Saturday with a cold open mocking Donald Trump's impeachment trial and "foregone conclusion" of an acquittal. The sketch also gave the show's cast members another chance to shine with some biting political impressions.
The sketch was presented as an episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight, and a bloviating Carlson (Alex Moffat) introduced a particularly excited Lindsey Graham (Kate McKinnon) to talk about the proceedings and defend the former president.
"We all agree the attack on the Capitol was a horrible thing. But just because the rioters were yelling, 'Fight for Trump' doesn't mean they meant Donald Trump," McKinnon's Graham argued. There could have been some real Tiffany heads. Maybe even some Eric stans, I don't know."
"But regardless, the trial is over, and now we can move past this and focus on the serious issues," Graham continued. "That's locking up Hillary and freeing Beautiful Britney Spears!"
Soon after, Graham attributed Trump's acquittal to the work of Ted Cruz and ushered Cruz (Aidy Bryant) into the interview. The lower-third banner below Cruz on the screen read, "Sen. Ted Cruz. Trump said, 'Wife Ugly,'" a reference to a real thing Trump said about Cruz's wife during the 2016 primaries.
"Yeah, I think she's beautiful," Cruz said. "But since Trump is the boss, sorry honey, ya busted!"
Bryant's Cruz also shared the role he played in helping Trump's case.
"Like any impartial juror, we took it upon ourselves to meet with the defense lawyers," Cruz said. "To give them some very simple legal advice, like, 'Stop,' and 'Don't.'"
Despite resounding criticism of Trump's legal defense, the former president was still acquitted, as most pundits expected. The trial itself revolved around Trump's culpability in the attempted coup on Jan. 6, when domestic terrorists attacked the Capitol in a siege that left five dead -- including a police officer -- and around 140 other officers injured.
Check out the video below for more on Trump's high-profile second impeachment trial.
Saturday Night Live airs live coast-to-coast at 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT on NBC.
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