'Saturday Night Live' Cold Open Features Lin-Manuel Miranda and James Austin Johnson as Donald Trump
In a surprise twist, the "Saturday Night Live" cold open featured a special appearance by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Dressed in his "Hamilton" costume, Miranda stood behind the cast, who were clad in 1700s attire for a scene about the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
"I say our lives not matter not if we lose it in the cause of liberty. What matters is the nation we built! Because in America all men are created equal!" Miranda exclaimed to thunderous applause.
"In America," he continued, "We will never have a king!"
James Austin Johnson, who portrays Donald Trump, then appeared on stage with a smirk and said, "Never say never! I'm in my king era."
"Just like my founding fathers, I am creating a new country as well. And just like them, we’re doing it very white-ly," Johnson said, poking fun at Trump's recent comments.
The scene transitioned to a frozen Johnson as Trump, with the 1700s scene still visible in the background. Johnson reflected on his son Barron, calling him "my new favorite son," and commented on his height and how he smacks his head on everything.
"We got a lot of surprise guests, like Melania!" Johnson said. "That was nice."
Johnson then went on to share his views on gender, saying, "We’re going back to common sense in regard to gender. No more makeup on men, unless you need it to be president."
"SNL" also poked fun of Trump's newly appointed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, with Johnson saying, "He said he’s going to stop drinking if he got the job, and that’s all I needed to hear!"
"Look at Lin. Look how bad he wants to do a rap. The audience would’ve eaten that right up. But we’re not gonna hear it," Johnson said, pointing at a frozen Miranda.
"I want to thank Lin for his generous one-million-dollar donation to my campaign. I know that was him."
"No, it was not!" shouted Miranda, who then stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Johnson and exclaimed, "Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!"