Former Saturday Night Live cast member Cecily Strong crashed this week’s cold open, reprising her iconic role as Fox News personality Jeanine Pirro.
Strong’s Pirro walked on stage holding just her purse, but soon revealed its contents: a bottle of red wine. “This,” she said, pointing to her purse, “is a cozy for my Merlot-zy.”
“Jeanine will be the newest addition to my incredible team in my administration,” announced Trump, once again played by cast member James Austin Johnson.
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“And what a team, Mr. President,” Pirro replied. “I’m so proud to be part of this group full of Russian assets, booze hounds, and people famous for the little baby animals they’ve killed.”
Cecily Strong has been playing Pirro since her first season on SNL, but her most famous portrayals of her have always been as a “Weekend Update” guest.
Her most memorable gag with Pirro is her tendency to spit wine at “Update” anchor Colin Jost. At first it seemed like this cold open would have to give up that gag, but then Jost made a surprise (and rare) cold open appearance, playing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“I love Pete Hegseth. He’s my old drinking buddy,” Pirro said, cueing Jost to walk on. Hegseth was previously played by cast member Andrew Dismukes.
When Jost’s Hegseth told Pirro the true story of how a US F-18 fighter plane had fallen “off the aircraft carrier and into the ocean,” Pirro was so shocked she spit her wine into his face.
“Hey, Pete, you’re not drinking again, are you?” asked Johnson’s Trump.
“No, absolutely not, sir,” Hegseth said. “I promised I would never have a bottle touch my lips, but I do have some news to share. Before I do, Jeanine, you want to take a swig of this?”
He handed Pirro a bottle of hard liquor, which she happily took.
“Anyway,” Hegseth continued. “I accidentally added Kim Jong Un to the group chat.”
Pirro spit her drink into his face yet again, which he happily lapped up.
Trump concluded, “Folks, they’re not the A-Team. They’re the AA Team.”
