With Wall Street in a tailspin over President Trump’s global tariff war, it’s no wonder that a few blocks north, at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the writers and producers of “Saturday Night Live” might be feeling that same shock. And while one of the show’s jobs is to satirize current events, there are times when “SNL” is hindered by its need to serve as reflection of current events more than an escape from them — providing laughs on one of the few nights of the week people are supposed to be kicking back and having fun. Unfortunately, such was the case for Jon Hamm‘s fourth round hosting at Studio 8H, though, as his monologue laid out, he has appeared for multiple cameos in the 15 years since his last time as headliner, including during the “SNL 50 Anniversary Special.”
Moving past the monologue, which featured a surprise cameo from Oscar-winner Kieran Culkin — currently performing in “Glengarry Glen Ross” on Broadway — Hamm’s first sketch of the evening was a TV news set-up anchored around business programming for people who live “Check to Check.” Obviously, the set-up was inspired by the current economic woes facing many who barely have the funds for groceries, let alone playing around within the market. Though funny initially, when you take a second to process it, the sketch feels like it’s laughing at those who are suffering rather than those who are causing it. At the same time, there is something very real about smiling through the train wreck that we’ve all been forced to experience.
As someone who watches a fair amount of TV with commercials, the pre-taped “Medication Ad” from last night’s “SNL” was right on the money. Not only does it perfectly capture the standard formula that’s been applied to nearly every medication advertisement over the last 10-15 years, but by having Hamm deliver the pitch, we might just have gotten a taste of the kind of work Don Draper would be doing in present day.
Two Trump bits in one evening? Yea, we were none too pleased either. After the cold open served as yet another opportunity for James Austin Johnson to do his weekly check-in on all of Trump’s latest escapades, viewers were treated to yet another bit centered around our ignoramus-in-chief. Pre-taped this time and featuring appearances by past cast members Beck Bennett as Vladimir Putin and Alex Moffat as Eric Trump, as well as a brief cameo by Scarlett Johansson as Ivanka Trump, “The White Potus” is (quite obviously) a play on the recently wrapped Season 3 of the hit HBO series. A cultural clash that blends well in concept, but not in execution, the best part of this bit is how it strips the world’s current power players down-to-size and gives a ton of cast members a moment to shine. Hamm’s combination of Health and Human Services Secretary RFK, Jr. and Walton Goggins’ Rick from “The White Lotus” was particularly amusing, as was Sarah Sherman’s take on Aimee Lou Woods’ Chelsea.
For the first time this season, Colin Jost and Michael Che’s performance at the Weekend Update desk didn’t always land, however, appearances by Bowen Yang as China’s Trade Ambassador Chen Biao and Emil Wakim lamenting the current state of America really helped pep things up toward the back half of the episode. Yang’s Biao has appeared multiple times before and never fails to disappoint, but with our current 145 percent tariff on China, the character was really in top form and put into focus the notion that this economic strategy is going to hurt America most. Meanwhile, Wakim’s moment in the spotlight proved why the featured player is worth keeping around, as his humor was not only biting, but incisive in a way that hearkened back to Update anchor Norm MacDonald.
