Saturday Night Live introduces new face as Donald Trump

Saturday Night Live did what kids would call "the most" in summing up the most controversial topics of the past week during its cold open, packing in everything from vaccine mandates to election results to Aaron Rodgers' retirement — and it even included a new face, introducing James Austin Johnson as Donald Trump.

Johnson joined the cold open where Cecily Strong channeled Fox News host Jeanine Pirro on the Judge Jeanine Pirro Justice Show!, immediately stealing the scene with his spot-on impression, hand gestures, and erratic Trump tangents. (He gets Dune, Game of Thrones, George Lucas, AND Star Wars in there!)

"I just wanted to congratulate Glenn Youngkin and mostly myself on a tremendous victory in Virginia. Glad we did it together," Johnson's Trump said referring to the Virginia governor-elect played by Alex Moffat. When Moffat tried to remove himself from the split-screen, Johnson refused. "It's great to be, frankly, winning again!" he said. "We did it together!"

Will Heath/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty James Austin Johnson as Donald Trump on 'SNL'

Strong also grilled Pete Davidson's Aaron Rodgers about not getting vaccinated against Covid-19, introducing him as "an American brave enough to stand and up say, 'Screw you, science, I know Joe Rogan!'" But it was Johnson's impression that got people talking and left them praising one of the newest cast members, still in his first run of shows.

The actor is no stranger to parodying Trump and gained buzz on social media for his impressions before coming to Studio 8H. Still, it's a treat to see him all dressed up and owning the moment. While fans might have felt like it would be hard to top Alec Baldwin's classic portrayal of the former President, Johnson comes as a welcome new face. Let's hope we get to see a lot more of him.

Watch the full cold open below and Johnson's impression starting at 4 minutes in.

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