How Saturday Night Live Reacted to Donald Trump’s Win Over Kamala Harris

No one sang "Hallelujah" on Saturday Night Live after the 2024 election.

On the Nov. 9 episode's cold open sketch, SaturdayNightLive  the cast members paid satirical tribute to the winner, Republican leader Donald Trump, who beat the Democratic candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, to secure a second term as President.

"To many people, including many people watching this show right now," Ego Nwodim began, "the results were shocking and even horrifying."

She noted that Trump was "returned to office by an overwhelming majority," adding, "This is the same Donald Trump who openly called for vengeance against his political enemies."

In the final weeks of the election campaign, Trump had repeatedly spoken at rallies and interviews about settling grievances against opponents or others he perceives to have wronged him, should he win a second term.

"The enemy from within, the crazy lunatics that we have, the fascists, the Marxists, the communists, the people that we have that are actually the country," he said at a rally in Wisconsin Oct. 6. "If you have a smart president, you'll be able to handle them very well."

On SNL, Nwodim declared, "Thanks to the Supreme Court, there are no guardrails. Nothing to protect the people who are brave enough to speak out against him. And that is why we at SNL would like to say to Donald Trump, we have been with you all along."

Bowen Yang added, "We have never wavered in our support of you, even when others doubted you." He later declared that the cast was excited about Trump's future presidency, which he dubbed "Trump 2.0."

Sporting a padded muscle suit and a red bandana, James Austin Johnson introduced a new version of his Trump character.

"That's right, it's me, Hot Jacked Trump," he said. "They finally got the body right. But from now on, we're going to do a very flattering portrayal of Trump because he's, frankly, my hero and he's going to make an incredible president and, eventually, king! We love you, buddy."

The NBC sketch series' post-2024 election episode aired one week after Harris made a cameo as herself alongside Maya Rudolph, who portrayed her in a recurring guest role during the campaign.

The cold open marked a contrast to the somber one SNL had broadcast in response to Trump's first victory in the 2016 vote, which saw Kate McKinnon, portraying defeated Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, perform an altered version of late singer Leonard Cohen's iconic ballad "Hallelujah."

In the latest episode, host Bill Burr also addressed Trump's second victory, as well as his campaigning strategy, in his opening monologue.

"My favorite part of the campaign was when Trump went to McDonald's," the comedian said, referring to the politician's October visit to a Pennsylvania branch of the fast food giant, during which he prepared and served French fries to supporters. "Wasn't that amazing? That's the only time I've ever seen that guy truly happy."

Burr continued, "Like, he was glowing. When he got behind the counter, it was like he was behind stage at like, Springsteen or something. He's like, 'Oh my God, this is where they make the French fries!' And he was sticking a couple of extra in one. He goes, 'Hey, whoever gets this one is going to be excited.' It's like, oh my God, was that empathy—of the people, Donald?"

(E! and NBC are part of the NBCUniversal family.)

Read on to meet SNL's 2024 Presidential election cast...

The former SNL cast member reprised her guest role of Vice President Kamala Harris on the premiere of the NBC sketch series' 50th season Sept. 28, 2024, just over a month before the U.S. Presidential election, which will see the Democratic party candidate face off against former President Donald Trump.

The actor, also a former SNL cast member who famously played former President George H.W. Bush on the show in the '80s and '90s, returned to the series for its 50th season premiere to play President Joe Biden (an impression he first debuted on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert in 2021).

Fellow SNL alum joined the actress in the Cold Open sketch to play Harris' husband Doug Emhoff.

The comedian made his SNL debut on the episode as Harris' running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

Johnson reprised his Trump character on the episode while Yang made his debut as the Republican leader's running mate, J.D. Vance.