In a desperate attempt to find a fresh way — any way — to criticize President Donald Trump, “Saturday Night Live” revived an old cast member’s impression in the cold open of its latest episode.
Will Ferrell joined the show to continue his once-famous impression of George W. Bush. And he, of course, talked about Trump.
Ferrell’s Bush addressed the audience from a basement “set,” where he said he still pretends to be president (pictures of wife Laura Bush behind him and all). He talked up his recent all-time high approval ratings.
“That’s right. ‘Donny Q. Trump’ came in and, suddenly, I’m looking pretty sweet by comparison. At this rate, I might even end up on Mount Rushmore right next to Washington, Lincoln — and I want to say, uh, Kensington? I don’t know. But the point is I’m suddenly popular AF,” said Ferrell’s Bush.
He added, “A lot of people are saying, ‘Man, I wish George W. Bush was our president right about now.’ So I just wanted to address my fellow Americans tonight and remind you guys that I was really bad. Like, historically not good.”
The show also couldn’t resist using Ferrell’s “Dubya” to declare that Trump lost the popular vote in the 2016 presidential election. “So I get why you don’t like this current guy. Heck, I voted for Jill Stein all the way … But please do not look back and my presidency and think, ‘This is how we do it.'”
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Ferrell’s Bush character gave himself credit for “creating ISIS” and tanking the stock market. He also said, “Don’t forget we’re still in two different wars that I started … You want to compare VPs for a sec? I’ve heard some complaints about Mike Pence, but if you knew half the stuff ol’ Cheney was up to, you’d take ‘no cakes for gays’ in a heartbeat.”
He added, “Some say Pence is heartless. But remember, Dick Cheney was literally heartless,” he said, in a pointed reference to the former vice president’s cardiac issues, including — after Bush and Cheney left office — a battery-powered heart pump implantation in 2010 and a subsequent heart transplant in 2012.
Ferrell-as-Bush also said, “We [he and Trump] both won the election despite losing the popular vote — though back in my day, we didn’t let Russians rig our elections. We used the Supreme Court like Americans.”
Later in the same segment, Leslie Jones of “SNL” walked in as former Bush cabinet member Condoleezza Rice, who served as secretary of state under Bush. She joined Ferrell’s Bush to tout the “accomplishments” of their administration using the “All in the Family” theme song: “The housing market went to hell / Nazis kept it to themselves / bin Laden was alive and well / Those were the days,” they sang together, imitating, of course, Archie Bunker and Edith Bunker.
Related: ‘Saturday Night Live’: Stale, Unfunny, Unraveling
The show’s “Weekend Update” segment took the hard-left stance it always does — and reiterated anti-Trump jokes already told on Twitter. It also riffed on absolutely every rumor swirling around the president.
The segment attacked Trump for allegedly trying to have special counsel Robert Mueller fired (which he has denied). “So he tried to obstruct justice in an obstruction of justice investigation,” said co-host Colin Jost. “It’s like getting pulled over for drunk driving and then challenging the cop to a keg stand.”
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