Saturday Night Live Takes on Coronavirus Crisis in Cold Open

Michael Ausiello
·2 min read

Saturday Night Live, in its first new episode in three weeks, took aim at the global coronavirus outbreak in its cold open, lampooning President Trump’s decision to put VP Mike Pence in charge of overseeing the swelling crisis “even though,” as Beck Bennett’s Pence admitted at the top of the skit (video below), “I don’t believe in science.” He then added, “But I am prepared for the challenge — we have assembled a very experienced team of some of the best people left in government.”

After bringing out Kenan Thompson’s Ben Carson, who warned everyone that the outbreak is “gonna be bad,” Pence segued into a press conference that ended up being hijacked by the remaining Democratic presidential hopefuls. All the usual faces were present, including Fred Armisen’s Michael Bloomberg, Rachel Dratch’s Amy Klobuchar, Larry David’s Bernie Sanders and Kate McKinnon’s Elizabeth Warren), but in a twist the episode’s host John Mulaney took on the role of VP Joe Biden (replacing regular portrayer Jason Sudeikis).

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“Joe Biden? You look… different,” Pence remarked, to which Biden — sporting a Miss South Carolina sash from his just-called primary victory — replied, “Yes, the surgery is starting to settle.”

Watch the cold open above, then hit the comments with your reactions.

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