‘Saturday Night Live’ targets Jan. 6 committee, Trump

“Saturday Night Live” opened its most recent episode by poking fun at last week’s House Jan. 6 committee hearing.

“Over the past few months, this bipartisan committee has presented our case,” said Heidi Gardner, who was playing Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.).

“Whether you’re a Republican who’s not watching or a Democrat who’s nodding so hard your head is falling off, one person is responsible for this insurrection: Donald Trump,” she continued. “And one person will suffer the consequences: me.”

As Cheney, Gardner went on to joke about the Wyoming Republican’s father, former Vice President Dick Cheney.

“You might wonder, how do you have the guts to take on your entire party alone?” said Gardner as Cheney. “And I’d say, when you were little, who tucked you in at night? Was it Dick Cheney?”

“So, yeah, I guess you could say I have big Dick Cheney energy,” Gardner added.

Cheney’s part came after she was introduced by the panel’s chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), played by Kenan Thompson.

“Jan. 6 was one of the most dramatic and consequential moments in our nation’s history, so to fight back, we assembled a team of monotone nerds to do a PowerPoint,” Kenan Thompson said.

Closing statements of the January 6th committee pic.twitter.com/uIR4kiiWdL

— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) October 16, 2022

The “SNL” skit also satirized a series of clips the committee showed of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and other congressional leaders making a flurry of calls during the riot.

“Hello, DoorDash. It’s Chuck Schumer,” said Sarah Sherman, who played Schumer. 

“Yes, we still haven’t received our lunch order, and, yes, I did change the drop-off location due to some unfortunate treason, but it still should have arrived by now,” continued Sherman, holding a flip phone like Schumer’s.

Later in the segment, the cast made fun of Pelosi’s repeated mentions during the clips aired at Thursday’s hearing of her receiving a report someone defecated on the House floor.

“America, I don’t know what more we could possibly show you, except maybe this clip of Nancy Pelosi saying poo-poo,” said Kenan Thompson.

“There is poo-poo. There is poo-poo on the walls of the Capitol,” Chloe Fineman, as Pelosi, said.

The cold open also featured appearances of cast members playing the other committee members, including Andrew Dismukes, who played Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.). 

“Trump is a hundred percent coming, and this time, he will be held accountable,” said Dismukes’s Kinzinger.

“Sure, he got away with a lot of stuff in the ’70s, the ’80s, the ’90s, the early 2000s, the 2010s and the early 2020s, but that ends now, with us,” Dismukes continued as Kinzinger. “Because I’m Mr. Kinzinger, and he will respect my authority.”

The cold open parodied the committee’s hearing Thursday, when lawmakers voted to subpoena former President Trump. 

The hearing may also be the committee’s last before its work wraps up near the end of the year.