Saturday Night Live mocked US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in its latest cold open. The comedy sketch made fun of the two members of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet through jokes about the military, public executions, health concerns and food safety.
He announced that a man in a wheelchair would be executed on live television in December. The sketch began with Jost’s Hegseth character walking out wearing an ammunition belt made from bottles of Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey. The joke portrayed him as ignoring the sailors’ actual feelings and pretending that everything was going well. Calling it the return of public executions, he compared the idea to the television comedy Scrubs.
He then told the sailors he was honoured to address the brave men and women before asking how they were doing, according to TV Insider. When one sailor said, “We’re bad,” Hegseth pretended to hear “awesome” instead. Hegseth then told the sailors what they had missed while away from home. Hegseth also told the sailors that he had recently unveiled a new logo for the Department of War. When a sailor asked whether it was a Nazi eagle, Hegseth replied that it was an American eagle with a “Nazi vibe”, according to TV Insider. RFK Jr. said he wanted to officially rename cold and flu season as “cold and flue and listeria and measles and trench brain season. The exaggerated list included illnesses and health conditions to mock the secretary’s public health messaging, according to TV Insider.
The sketch ended with Hegseth delivering the show’s familiar closing line: “And live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!
The cold open used exaggerated impressions and dark humour to poke fun at Hegseth, RFK Jr. and issues involving the US military, government and public health, according to TV Insider.
He claimed there had been zero casualties and zero flight mishaps , but added that there had also been “zero working toilets. Hegseth praised the sailors for carrying out more than 3,000 combat missions.
The joke contrasted the military’s achievements with the poor conditions faced by service members, according to TV Insider.
