The late night NBC comedy show, kicking off its 42nd season,
opened with an extended sketch featuring Baldwin as Trump facing
off with a calculating, cunning and smug Hillary Clinton, with
Kate McKinnon reprising her turn as the Democratic nominee.
Much of the routine was lifted from the opponents' Monday
debate, including references to talk show host and Trump nemesis
Rosie O'Donnell, and vocal Trump backer, Fox News' Sean Hannity.
Baldwin began his Trump routine promising "I'm going to be so
good tonight," before issuing a perfunctory response on jobs and
economics.
"End of story, I won the debate, I stayed calm just like I
promised, and it, is, over. Goodnight," he proclaimed before
walking away.
Told by the moderator there were still 88 minutes left, "Trump"
responded, "My microphone is broken," adding "She broke it. With
Obama."
Asked what she thought of Trump's rambling discourse, a smirking
McKinnon-as-Clinton replied "I think I'm going to be president."
The audience for the live show applauded wildly.
After a few more minutes of Baldwin-as-Trump's increasingly
bizarre remarks, a swaggering Clinton asks "Can America vote
right now?" Later, fighting tears, she explained, "This is going
so well. It's going exactly how I always dreamed."
The show's writers made sure to take shots at the Democrat as
well, including her referencing beauty queen Alicia Machado as
"a political prop that I almost forgot to mention".
In her closing statement, Clinton said "Listen America, I get
it, you hate me." She then threatened that "If you don't elect
me, I will continue to run for president until the day I die."
Baldwin, who has hosted Saturday Night Live more than anyone in
its storied history, will be back as Trump until the November
election, likely providing a ratings spike for the show that has
mined U.S. elections and politics for comic fodder since 1975.
Trump himself appeared on the show as host in November 2015,
when he was campaigning to win the Republican nomination.
(Reporting by Chris Michaud; Editing by Richard Borsuk)
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