Tom Hanks returned to “Saturday Night Live” on Halloween night to revive his lounge-y David S. Pumpkins character in a cold open that skewered President Trump’s increasingly bizarre comments on the stump and his fixation with men’s physiques.
The segment also featured Saidah Belo-Osagie as Nicki Minaj in a spoof of the star’s vocal support for Trump and his MAGA movement. The bit cast Minaj as Trump’s next choice for press secretary, on the heels of Katie Zacharia’s spectacularly quick flame-out in the job earlier this month.
The segment opened with Grace Reiter and Jeremy Culhane as a young couple taking a ride at a low-end amusement park Halloween celebration. Kenan Thompson then pops up in a ghoulish Grim Reaper costume to guide the couple through a series of scary scenes. Pumpkins, the character that Hanks first limned for the show in 2016, popped in with a dorky dance routine accompanied by Mikey Day and a special cameo appearance by former “SNL” trouper Bobby Moynihan. Day and Moynihan wore skeleton jumpers with white face paint.
As the ride continued, James Austin Johnson turned up as President Trump, who stepped in to interrupt the ride and lament about Republicans’ being poised for a thumping in the Nov. 3 midterm election. The segment then went into a string of surprisingly risque jokes about Trump’s unusual obsession with the butts of candidates that he has been endorsing as he’s hosted a string of campaign rallies in recent weeks.
As Trump spoke, the other players in the scene were in freeze mode. Thompson’s Grim Reaper character broke from the scene and rushed past Johnson as Trump. Trump calls out “thank you for that donation” to which Thompson replies, “Yeah, you wish, bitch.”
In closing, Trump brings out Zacharia who flubs her attempt to deliver the signature “SNL” opening line, “Live from New York it’s Saturday night.”
The Halloween installment of “SNL” is hosted by “Obsession” star Inde Navarrette, with Gracie Abrams serving as musical guest.
