Melissa McCarthy made a return visit to “Saturday Night Live,” playing White House press secretary Sean Spicer in the show’s cold open.
Trump administration figures were all over the show, hosted by Alec Baldwin for a record 17th time. Baldwin played the president once again, this time taking his beef with the federal courts over his travel ban to “The People’s Court.” “SNL” alum Tracy Morgan also made an appearance in a non-Trump sketch, playing one of Beyoncé’s twins, in utero, alongside Kenan Thompson.
“I’m calm now,” McCarthy’s Spicer assured the crowd in the press room set before erupting with anger during the cold open. The sketch was filled with bellicose references to the events from the past week and included a brief appearance by “SNL” trouper Kate McKinnon as newly confirmed Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
“There’s two kinds of crime — regular and black,” McKinnon said.
McCarthy generated rave reviews last week for her first turn as the White House’s pugnacious new chief spokesman. In her second outing, McCarthy again spoofed Spicer’s reported love for chewing gum and his combative exchanges with reporters.
After being pressed for reaction to the federal appellate court’s decision to uphold the decision blocking the implementation of President Trump’s travel ban, McCarthy brought out Barbie and Ken doll props to explain to reporters who would be allowed in the country.
“We know she’s OK because she’s blond. So she gets in,” McCarthy said.
The sketch also skewered the White House’s decision to release a list of terrorist attacks that it believes have been under-covered by mainstream media, and the flap that erupted after Nordstrom said it would drop the apparel line of Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, because of weak sales. McCarthy referred to the retailer’s decision as “white terrorism” and pitched a few Ivanka-branded products QVC-style — a nod to the controversy stirred when presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway suggested during a TV interview that Americans should “buy Ivanka’s stuff.”
Conway also came in for satirizing in a later sketch, when McKinnon once again limned the politico in a “Fatal Attraction” spoof that found Conway breaking into the apartment of CNN anchor Jake Tapper, played by Beck Bennett. Upset at being sidelined over her credibility issues, she wields a knife and makes other menacing moves as she urges Tapper to bring her back as a guest.
Baldwin’s latest turn as the president — an impersonation he began doing for “SNL” about a month before the Nov. 8 election — came toward the end of the show. Cecily Strong played “The People’s Court” jurist who ultimately scolded Trump to slow down. Bennett was back as a shirtless Vladimir Putin, who was a character witness for the president.
“I just want one day without a CNN alert that scares the hell out of me,” Strong said.
“SNL” regular Leslie Jones was featured in a bit about her pursuing a dream to play Trump on the show — only to be shot down in her audition by “SNL” exec producer Lorne Michaels.
“SNL” announced during the broadcast that Octavia Spencer, an Oscar nominee for “Hidden Figures,” will host the March 4 edition of the show.