Saturday Night Live (SNL) kicked off its 46th season with a biting political satire during the Cold Open portion of the show. In a scene that wove together American history and contemporary politics, SNL impersonators took on the roles of Alexander Hamilton and Donald Trump. The creative spin saw Hamilton participating in the signing of the Declaration of Independence, only to encounter a surprise visitor.
During the opening, Tom Hanks made a cameo as the show’s anchor, George Washington, presiding over the momentous occasion. Into the room saunters a suited-up Donald Trump impersonated by none other than Alec Baldwin. The sketch swiftly took a turn as Trump suggests that if the Founding Fathers had done things the way he would have, they would have “kept all the best parts of the Revolutionary War. The fighting. The bloodshed. All the goodness.”
In ongoing banter, Trump tries to provoke Hamilton (portrayed by the very talented Leslie Odom Jr., in a separate moment from his musical performances) into an autistic trance – overreacting to a simple misunderstanding about Hamilton’s financial situation with Aaron Burr. The humor richly derives from the anachronism of mixing historical figures with modern political trends and figures.
While Hamilton and Trump remain vastly different in numerous aspects, bringing the two together on stage has proven to be quite the comedic gold mine, invoking laughter from the audience by showcasing the contemporariness and absurdity of hyperbolic political figures and policies.
As Washington comments on the chaos, Trump’s impersonation lands on a humorous note as he discusses America’s financial mess, ranting about the fact that the government wouldn’t collect taxes (despite this being the point of the revolution). Washington recognizes the irony in the situation saying, “Sometimes, America, I just want to lock you in a room until you get your act together.”
The SNL Cold Open encapsulated a cross-section of U.S. history blended together with current political humor, receiving acclaim for its clever characterization and satire of recent American political history through original impersonators.
