“Saturday Night Live” wasted no time diving back into political satire during its latest cold open, taking aim at several prominent MAGA-linked figures in a sketch centered around heavy drinking, conspiracy jokes, and Washington D.C. chaos. The sketch, set inside the iconic Martin’s Tavern, featured Matt Damon returning to portray Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh alongside Colin Jost as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Aziz Ansari as FBI Director Kash Patel.
Matt Damon’s Kavanaugh Made Several Controversial Jokes On ‘SNL’
The scene opened with Jost’s Hegseth joking about finally finding a bar where he wouldn’t run into anyone from the White House. “None of Trump’s people like drinking as much as I do,” he quipped. Damon’s Kavanaugh then entered the bar and immediately ordered “six Bud Lights and three shots of Jameson,” prompting the bartender to joke that the order was a “6-3 decision.”
The sketch escalated further when Damon’s character explained why he expected to find Hegseth at the bar. “I just saw all the women covering their drinks,” he said, referencing past accusations surrounding Kavanaugh’s college drinking behavior.
The real-life justice faced intense scrutiny during his 2018 Senate confirmation hearings after former classmates alleged he drank heavily and could become aggressive while attending Yale. Kavanaugh has denied drinking excessively or engaging in misconduct.
The sketch also mocked Patel after Ansari’s version of the FBI director burst into the tavern asking, “Does this bar take cash?!” He later held up a fake bottle labeled as his own bourbon brand and declared, “I made my own FBI bourbon with my name on it.”
Patel is currently suing The Atlantic over reporting tied to allegations involving excessive drinking, claims he has strongly denied.
‘SNL’ Also Took Aim At Trump’s Third-Term Rumors
The sketch eventually veered into even more absurd territory when Damon’s Kavanaugh revealed an alleged plan to allow Donald Trump to serve a third presidential term. “We’re gonna let Trump do a third term,” Damon announced, sending the other characters into celebration.
When Jost’s Hegseth pointed out that such a move would be unconstitutional, Damon replied that Trump supposedly found the original Constitution and simply added the word “Sike!” to the end. The cold open ended with Kenan Thompson, playing the bartender, announcing last call before the trio drunkenly launched into a sing-along of “Tubthumping” by Chumbawamba.
Viewers Were Split Over The Political Sketch
Reaction online quickly became divided, with some viewers praising the sketch’s over-the-top political humor while others slammed the show for what they viewed as repetitive anti-MAGA jokes.
Critics flooded social media with complaints that the long-running NBC comedy series has become overly political and “not funny anymore.” “It’s really frustrating to watch a handful of angry activists placate their audience,” one user wrote online. Another added, “Why do you think it infuriates people? Nobody watches ‘SNL,’ it’s not funny.”
Others defended the sketch and argued that political satire has always been part of the show’s DNA. “’SNL’ has been poking fun at presidents and politicians for quite some time now,” one supporter wrote. Another viewer praised the performance energy behind the sketch, calling it “high-fashion red carpet energy” for political comedy and applauding Damon’s return as Kavanaugh.
‘SNL’ Has Repeatedly Taken Aim At Donald Trump And MAGA Politics
Of course, this latest cold open is far from the first time “Saturday Night Live” has targeted Donald Trump and his inner circle. Back in November, the long-running NBC sketch series sparked major backlash from MAGA supporters after mocking Trump’s alleged ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein during another controversial cold open. The sketch featured James Austin Johnson reprising his now-famous Trump impersonation during a fake press conference centered around the unsealed Epstein files.
In the parody, Johnson’s Trump awkwardly dodged questions from reporters about why he had not released the Epstein files despite mounting pressure from supporters. The fake Trump character jokingly admitted he was hiding “almost nothing, just enough to make it extremely suspicious,” while also making several exaggerated “Freudian slips” throughout the sketch.
At one point, the cold open referenced an Epstein email calling Trump “the dog that hasn’t barked,” prompting Johnson’s Trump to spiral into a bizarre rant comparing himself to “a cub or possibly an otter, definitely not a twink.”
Wild Trump-Epstein Sketch Packed With Jokes
The sketch only became more chaotic from there, including surreal jokes about Trump existing across “multiple timelines,” references to Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu, and a closing gag involving Trump pardoning “a turkey that was a sex criminal.”
Much like the show’s latest MAGA-themed sketch, the Epstein cold open sparked fierce online debate, with critics accusing “SNL” of pushing political agendas while supporters praised the show for continuing its long tradition of aggressively satirizing political figures.