Saturday Night Live‘s “Weekend Update” hosts Colin Jost and Michael Che had a blast picking apart Donald Trump‘s cabinet picks, with a special appearance by Bowen Yang cosplaying as Joe Exotic (of Netflix’s Tiger King fame).
“On Wednesday, Trump nominated Matt Gaetz for attorney general, and Gaetz said the same thing he does when he sees a teenage girl: I’ll do it,” Jost joked, to initial gasps and then claps. He added that Gaetz was picked “after Trump remembered his original pick was found dead in a jail cell,” alongside a picture of Jeffrey Epstein.
Next, Che skewered Elon Musk’s new Department of Government Efficiency, which posted a job listing calling for candidates “willing to work 80+ hours a week for no money, but you can’t be surprised that the white African guy’s first idea is slavery.”
Of course, “Weekend Update” would be remiss not to mention Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his brain worms: “Kennedy, whose skin is always cooked to a perfect medium rare, will lead the Department of Health and Human Services, and I know he doesn’t have a lot of experience, but I say we should give him a shot,” Jost said, accompanied by a photo of a syringe.
Also mentioned was a throwaway joke about the Tyson-Paul fight livestreamed on Netflix the night prior: “Last night, Jake Paul and Mike Tyson teamed up to defeat everyone watching.”
At this point, Yang’s Exotic was summoned to comment on his penning a letter asking Trump for a pardon from prison (his third time asking, and second attempt directed at Trump) — as well as his request for a cabinet position.
“All I did is was care for my cats, make love to my two straight husbands and try to kill Carole Baskin multiple times,” Yang’s Exotic pleaded. “I was framed by PETA. You know, I’ve gotten to know PETA very well these past few years, Che. I guess you could say I’m a PETA-phile.”
At this point, Exotic was interrupted by a stuffed tiger paw which kept leaping out from off-camera to terrorize him throughout his bit.
“I have the perfect experience to be the director of Fish and Wildlife,” the comedian joked. “Che, you ever been in a Life of Pi situation? It’s where you’re stuck on a boat with a tiger and your Indian boyfriend.”
When questioned why he would want to be a part of Trump’s cabinet, given that he briefly ran for president as a Democrat earlier this year, he answered, “Like my mullet, my politics are country over party.”
Capping off “Weekend Update” was Sarah Sherman in a full mascot as Mr. Peanut’s widow Hazel, at times squirling, mourning and flirting with Jost.
The program wasn’t the only Saturday Night Live sketch to tackle Trump’s lackluster cabinet picks, including one from earlier in the night with host and musical guest Charli XCX that made fun of Joe Rogan’s podcast.
