One of the best things to come out of this year’s ridiculously messy and drawn-out election cycle was Kate McKinnon’s impression of Hillary Clinton on “Saturday Night Live.” (Although, Larry David’s Bernie Sanders and Alec Baldwin’s Donald Trump renditions were almost as priceless.) On Saturday night’s episode McKinnon reprised her Clinton character by singing “Hallelujah” and ending her song with “I’m not giving up and neither should you!”

Here’s the full cold open:

It was an interesting move for the show–not clearly a comedic take on Tuesday night’s results, but also Clinton’s campaign juxtaposed with some of the lyrics added a touch of poignant levity. For example, she sang:

I did my best, it wasn’t much, I couldn’t feel, so I tried to touch.

I’ve told the truth, I didn’t come to fool you. And even though it all went wrong, I’ll stand before the lord of song, with nothing on my tongue but hallelujah.

The scene was also a nice remembrance of the song’s writer, Leonard Cohen, who died earlier this week.

Alec Baldwin didn’t come back as Trump this week; he had previously said he “hoped” he wouldn’t be back, seemingly indicating that he hoped that Trump wouldn’t win the election and require a new skit.

It’s unclear if Baldwin will continue to play Trump throughout the duration of his presidency. While he makes a perfect Trump, he doesn’t seem to enjoy the role very much. Appearing on “The Brian Lehrer Show” recently, he said:

I’m not an impressionist, per se, but if you do any kind of comedy and they ask you to do that, most of the time, there’s some degree of appreciation, I think, involving somebody you like. Trump is somebody who, I don’t hate Trump, but he’s not somebody I admire, so it was more difficult.

So whether this marks the end of McKinnon’s Clinton, Baldwin’s Trump, or both, it’s a sad day for “SNL.”

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Kate McKinnon’s Hillary Clinton Has a Perfect Election Wrap Up Song appeared first on Law Street.

We’re nearing the end of the Republican National Convention, and the seriousness of Donald Trump potentially taking over the Oval has us all in desperate need of a bit of humor this week. From Michelle Obama singing Carpool Karaoke with Missy Elliott, to Stephen Colbert crashing the RNC, here are some of the best funny political clips of the week:

Michelle Obama Gets Her “Freak On” During Carpool Karaoke

James Corden, host of the hilarious “Late Late Show,” stopped by the White House for his latest edition of Carpool Karaoke, and wound up with First Lady Michelle Obama in his passenger seat. How he got past the Secret Service, I’m not sure, but the private tour was legendary.

Corden and FLOTUS drove around the grounds and rocked out to songs like “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)” by Stevie Wonder (Michelle’s favorite artist) and  “Single Ladies” by Beyoncé. Missy Elliott also made a surprise appearance, joining the pair for a rendition of Michelle’s charity anthem “This is For My Girls” and “Get Ur Freak On”–I think it’s fair to say Michelle Obama is the coolest First Lady ever.

Kate McKinnon Dresses Up as Notorious RBG to Mock Trump

“Ghostbusters” star Kate McKinnon dressed up as Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the Republican National Convention to respond to Trump telling Twitter, “Her mind is shot–resign!“

A robed McKinnon said,

If my mind is shot then Donald Trump’s mind is shot, stabbed, strangled, put in a vat of wet cement and dumped in the Gowanus Canal. His mind is sleeping with the fishes, but it’s waking up to a Ginsburn.

Trump’s tweet came after the real Notorious RBG recently made headlines for calling Donald Trump “a faker” in a recent interview. The 83-year-old Supreme Court Justice said, “I can’t imagine what this place would be–I can’t imagine what the country would be–with Donald Trump as our president.”

Stephen Colbert is Hungry For Power Games at RNC

On Sunday, Stephen Colbert crashed the Republican National Convention for another edition of  the “Hungry for Power Games” that was later streamed Live on Monday night’s “Late Show.” A blue-wigged Colbert showed up to the RNC as Julius–his best impersonation of “The Hunger Games” host Caesar Flickerman–and toured Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena with his fake pet weasel, Caligula, in hand.

Colbert’s mocked New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, North Carolina’s bathroom laws, and Trump’s immigrations plans before later seizing the stage to make fun of Donald Trump’s running mate Mike Pence–which ended with him being escorted off stage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFjDBvRxcbM

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Funny Political Clips of the Week: FLOTUS Singing, SNL x RBG, & Colbert appeared first on Law Street.

This weekend on Saturday Night Live, Larry David once again reprised his role as Bernie Sanders–a role that, as the weeks go by, it truly seems like he was born to play. SNL’s cold open, which also satirized Ben Carson and Donald Trump, hit some of this week’s increasingly bizarre primary stories head on.

Here’s the full skit:

While the skit made fun of Carson’s creepiness and Trump’s racism and the violence against protestors at his rallies, the real butt of the skit’s joke seemed to be Sanders’ supporters. The skit particularly hit hard on how young and white those supporters are. Some of the standout quotes to that effect included:

My message is resonating with a very diverse group of white people. And I’ve got supporters of all ages — 18-year olds, 19-year olds … That’s it.

I want to thank everyone who voted for me, and apologize to everyone else for making your Facebook feeds so, so annoying. I mean, I love my supporters, but they’re too much, right? I’m great, but I’m not five-posts-a-day great. With all due respect to my supporters, get a life.

The young people love me, Tapper, because I’m like them: I’ve got a lot of big plans and absolutely no idea how to achieve them.

SNL did take a couple shots at Sanders himself too–for example at one point “Jake Tapper” circles back to “Sanders” for a comment, to discover that the Democratic candidate is in his pajamas. When asked how he got into his pajamas so quickly, David’s Sanders character discloses that he wears the pajamas under his suit at all points, hence the bagginess of his suits.

SNL also took on Hillary Clinton later in the episode, once again played by the fantastic Kate McKinnon. In that skit, Clinton attempts to appeal to millennial voters, and decides the best way to do so is just to turn into Bernie Sanders. Throughout the course of the “campaign ad” she imitates Sanders’ Brooklyn accent and eventually ends up looking like him.

As this election cycle continues on and on, it’s nice to know that SNL will probably be around to add some great, and much-needed, levity.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Last night was a big evening for “Saturday Night Live.” Tracy Morgan came back to host for the first time since he was in a serious car accident last summer. But even that celebration was overshadowed by another reappearance–Larry David, a former cast member writer for SNL. David played presidential hopeful and Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, showcasing a resemblance that has had many clamoring for David to play Sanders since he started making waves in the Democratic polls.

David was joined by Kate McKinnon, reprising her role as Hillary Clinton. Lincoln Chaffee was played by Kyle Mooney, Taran Killam was Martin O’Malley, and Jon Rudnitsky was the debate moderator, Anderson Cooper. Alec Baldwin, an SNL regular, also showed up to play Jim Webb.

Showing that the best comedy comes from real life, SNL used some of the actual lines from the Democratic debate, including when Sanders informed Clinton that everyone was tired of hearing about her “damn emails.” SNL also incorporated when Clinton decided not to respond to Chafee’s claims that her ethics could use some work with a simple “no.” Some of the satirical lines were also brilliant, including David’s tirade about Super PACs. David, as Sanders, said:

I don’t have a Super PAC, I don’t have a backpack. I carry my stuff around loose in my arms like a professor between classes. I own one pair of underwear. That’s it! Some of these billionaires, they have three, four pairs. And I don’t have a dryer! I have to put my clothes on the radiator. So who do you want as president? One of these Washington insiders, or a guy who has one pair of clean underwear that he dries on a radiator?

David’s similar features, as well as his pretty accurate Brooklyn accent, were a dead ringer for Sanders. Certainly the internet thinks so, as the clip quickly went viral.

Larry David as Bernie Sanders is the Tina Fey as Sarah Palin of this election cycle. #SNL

— Michael Calia (@Michael_Calia) October 18, 2015

 

Larry David is Bernie Sanders on #SNL. As was foretold by the seers of old.

— Matt Fowler (@TheMattFowler) October 18, 2015

As the 2016 primaries continue to (slowly) heat up, there will be a lot of fantastic satirical skits. But SNL just set a very, very high bar.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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