New York CNN Business –
“Saturday Night Live” opened this week’s episode by taking on one of the hottest moments in the news recently: the House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021, uprising.
Kenan Thompson, who played Rep. Bennie Thompson, opened the NBC variety show by introducing the crowd to the committee’s ninth and final hearing.
“January 6th was one of the most dramatic and consequential moments in our nation’s history, so to fight back, we assembled a team of drab nerds to make a PowerPoint,” said Thompson’s Bennie Thompson.
He went on to say that the committee has been investigating the attack for more than a year, but that this session would be “a little different.”
“We’ll summarize our findings, take a vote to make history and then, and only then, will we all have a little treat,” Thompson’s Bennie Thompson said with pies.
After this introduction, the representative, Liz Cheney, played by Heidi Gardner, took the floor.
“Over the past several months, this bipartisan committee has made our case to all Americans,” he said. “Whether you’re a Republican who doesn’t look or a Democrat who nods so hard your head falls off, one person is responsible for this insurgency: Donald Trump. And one person will suffer the consequences: me.”
Gardner’s Cheney said the audience may be wondering what makes her so tough, and said she would ask the audience, “Who’s your father? Is it Dick Cheney?”
“So yeah, I guess you could say I have a lot of Dick Cheney energy,” he said.
The committee then reviewed some of its evidence, including a video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, played by Chloe Fineman, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, played by Sarah Sherman, in a bunker
“Hello, DoorDash? This is Chuck Schumer,” Schumer said of Sherman by phone from the bunker. “Yes, we still haven’t received our lunch order. And I changed our starting point due to an unfortunate betrayal, but I should have arrived by now.”
The committee then sought evidence from then-President Donald Trump by asking a bunch of people if he lost the election, including a White House janitor who said he did, in fact, lose the election.
Trump even asked a dog to “shake his dead from side to side.”
“Donald was desperate to stay in power,” said Representative Adam Kinzinger, played by Andrew Dismukes. “Even though real heroes like Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer were the ones who really ran this country.
Then it immediately cut to Sherman’s Schumer and Fineman’s Pelosi talking to then-Vice President Mike Pence.
“Let me tell you, if Trump comes here right now, I’m going to punch him in the face,” Pelosi said of Fineman. “I’ll go to jail, but I’ll be happy.”
Thompson’s Bennie Thompson asked Gardner’s Cheney for any final thoughts.
“The fact is that Trump planned to declare victory regardless of the results,” he said. “Watch this video of the president a day before the election.”
The video shown was of James Austin Johnson as Trump on the phone saying “votes don’t matter.”
“What is even a vote?” he said
The committee then voted to subpoena Trump. They all voted yes and thought he would actually run.
“Okay, I see that’s a complete zero,” said Thompson’s Bennie Thompson. “I want to thank my colleagues for dedicating their summers and, in some cases, their careers to serve on this committee.”
He then added that it was “a fun country while it lasted”.
After that, it gave rise to the show’s signature catchphrase: “Live…from New York! It’s Saturday night!”