This week marked the first new Saturday Night Live episode since Donald Trump became the Republican presidential nominee. They had to go there.
And they did so with special guest Dana Carvey reprising his celebrated Church Lady character to talk about a general election matchup “between a godless liberal Democrat... and Hillary Clinton.”
After sharing her thoughts about Madonna’s Met Ball fashion and Beyoncé’s Lemonade album, the Church Lady introduced her first guest. It was someone she “talks about quite a bit” but has “never actually met face-to-face”: Satan.
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“Actually, you can just call me Ted Cruz,” Taran Killam said when he entered. As the Church Lady explained, she was referring to the “Lucifer in the flesh” nickname Cruz received from former House Speaker John Boehner right before he lost in Indiana.
Asked why his campaign didn’t succeed, Cruz said, “I suppose the American people weren’t ready for a candidate with strong Christian values, someone like me who follows the righteous path and lives his faith every blessed moment.” To which the Church Lady replied, “Has anyone ever told you that you’re just a little preachy?”
Next up, the host introduced “the presumptive Republican divorcee, I mean nominee,” Donald J. Trump. For a moment, it seemed the real Trump may have decided to seize the opportunity for yet another SNL cameo, but it was none other than Darrell Hammond.
Immediately, Trump attempted to tout his Christian bona fides. “Oh, I’m a big church guy. I am there all the time. Sometimes I go even when it’s not church day,” he said. “I love all the books in the Bible,” he continued. “They’re all terrific. Corinthians Part Deux, Book of Revelations, Two Genesis, Two Furious, which says, and I quote, ‘Love thy neighbor as thyself and like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.’”
“And the part where Jon Snow comes back to life,” Trump added. “That’s great Bible.”
“Well, isn’t that special,” the Church Lady replied.
By the end of the somewhat rocky sketch, Cruz had morphed into Satan and still didn’t have enough strength to best Trump.
