NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” parodied the first week of the House’s public impeachment hearings by presenting it as a soap opera in the vein of “Days of Our Lives.”
In an apparent jab at observers who felt the hearings regarding President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine were “boring” and lacked “pizzazz,” “Saturday Night Live” opened the skit by introducing “Days of Our Impeachment,” a show in which the “only thing at stake is democracy.”
{mosads}The segment then transitions to a reimagined impeachment hearing featuring Alex Moffat as House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Cecily Strong as former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and Mikey Day as Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). Actor Jon Hamm later makes an appearance as William Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine.
“I’m only here today because I was the target of a smear campaign by President Trump and Rudy Giuliani that left me publicly humiliated and without a job,” Strong’s Yovanovitch says to open the hearing, prompting Day’s Jordan to argue that “this witness is clearly here because she loves attention.”
“Oh, yeah,” Strong’s Yovanovitch replies. “I love the glamour and the spotlight. That’s why I spent my career in Ukraine and Somalia.”
The interaction gives way to Moffat’s Schiff announcing that the president has sent a tweet, referencing tweets Trump sent attacking Yovanovitch during Friday’s hearing.
“The president just sent a tweet,” Moffat’s Schiff says, prompting dramatic background music. In response, Heidi Gardner, playing an audience member, gasps before fainting, a stunt that she would mimic throughout the skit.
After Moffat’s Schiff declares that Trump is intimidating a witness, Day’s Jordan dismisses the charge, saying that if the “president wanted to intimidate you, he’d shoot you in the face in the middle of Fifth Avenue.”
Asked by Strong’s Yovanovitch if he would impeach Trump if that were to occur, Day’s Jordan replies, “I’d have to look at the facts, but no.”
Hamm’s Taylor then appears at the hearing, stating upon his entrance, “Unlike other people in the Trump administration, I show up.”
The skit later includes appearances from Kate McKinnon as Rudy Giuliani, Pete Davidson as lawyer Michael Avenatti, Melissa Villaseñor as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Beck Bennett as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Kenan Thompson as Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett. Referencing an incident that led to Garrett’s indefinite suspension, Thompson at one point swings a helmet at McKinnon’s Giuliani.
Hamm’s Taylor and Villaseñor’s Ocasio-Cortez are featured in a romantic interaction after the fictional New York lawmaker arrives at the hearing.
“Alexandria, I didn’t expect to see you here,” Hamm’s Taylor says as wind blows Villaseñor’s hair.