‘SNL’ Cold Open: Trump Wheels Out Hannibal Lecter

‘SNL’ Cold Open: Trump Wheels Out Hannibal Lecter, His ‘Favorite’ VP Pick

Season 49 of Saturday Night Live began with Donald Trump (played by James Austin Johnson) evaluating his potential running mates, who ranged from sycophants to face-eaters.

Among those who showed up were South Carolina Senator Tim Scott (played by Devon Walker) and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (played by Heidi Gardner), who arrived holding a stuffed dog with a gun pointed at him. . Most notable, however, was the appearance of Hannibal Lecter, played by a wild-eyed Michael Longfellow, who was wheeled onto the stage on a stretcher while wearing a mask and straitjacket, just like in the Oscar-winning film. (Last week, Trump bizarrely praised the fictional serial killer and cannibal in a speech.)

On the SNL stage, Trump introduced the “great, late” character.

“Even though I keep calling him 'deceased' and 'great,' he's actually not dead, he's not cool and he's not real,” Trump said. “But I think he would really scare everyone at the border, right?”

Moments later, Trump motioned to Lecter's aide to take him away. “It's giving me Pence vibes. I don’t like that,” he commented.

Trump explained that his search for a running mate was not based on political calculation. Rather, it will depend on the outcome of a boxing exhibition.

“In many ways, he will be determined by the winner of the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight,” he said, referring to the July fight. “So we'll be watching that very closely.”

Regarding his ongoing criminal trial for bribery, which is expected to resume on Monday with the defense presenting, Trump shared his plans.

“Believe me, I would love to testify. I’m not afraid to do it at all,” he insisted. “I just won’t do it, out of fear.”

“You see, they do a terrible thing when you testify, which is to write everything down. And we don’t like that,” he continued.