Will Heath/NBC
With every new episode of “Saturday Night Live,” you can find us here writing about the most notable sketches. See you next Saturday, April 14, for an episode hosted by John Mulaney with musical guest Jack White.
President Trump had his sights set abroad this week, announcing plans to send National Guard troops to the United States border with Mexico and hurtling toward what many fear will become a trade war with China. But on Saturday evening, he faced an unexpected crisis much closer to home: In Midtown Manhattan, the president’s flagship edifice, Trump Tower, briefly caught fire.
Just hours later, Alec Baldwin took the stage less than half a mile away to reprise his recurring role as Trump in the opening sketch of a “Saturday Night Live” episode hosted by the “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman and featuring the musical guest Cardi B. After issuing a “Fox News Alert” made up solely of the word “Mexicans,” Harris Faulkner (Leslie Jones), a co-host of the network’s female-dominated talk show “Outnumbered,” segued into a joint news conference between the president and the leaders of the Baltic nations.
“Let’s make this quick because I’ve got a lot of trade wars to escalate, here, OK?” said Baldwin’s impatient President Trump, by way of a greeting. “That’s why I just announced tariffs on more Chinese products, including fireworks and finger traps.” He hastened to introduce his counterparts from Estonia, Lithuania and, Baldwin said, “I wanna say Stankonia.” (The third Baltic nation is actually Latvia. “Stankonia” is the title of an album by the hip-hop duo OutKast.)
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When Baldwin was compelled to take questions from reporters, he diverted a query about the president’s claim that he was unaware of the payout that the porn star Stormy Daniels received in exchange for signing a nondisclosure agreement about their relationship to the Latvian president, Raimonds Vējonis (Alex Moffat). “Borat, you wanna take that one?” he asked.
“We have an expression in my country,” said Moffat. “And it translates roughly as, ‘This man is lying.’”
The final query of the cold open came from a reporter played by Melissa Villaseñor, who wondered if the president was worried that the new trade tariffs would imperil the United States’ standing in the world.
“I’m the only one who’s willing to actually say this: I don’t care about America, OK?” Baldwin replied. “This whole presidency is a four-year cash grab, and admitting that will probably get me four more years.”
In other memorable moments from this episode:
Sketch of the Week
This week brought the return of the beloved “S.N.L.” sketch “Black Jeopardy,” which stars Keenan Thompson as the game show’s host, Darnell Hayes. “This might be the blackest ‘Black Jeopardy’ yet,” he announced. Categories included “Fid’na,” “Aw Hell Naw” and “White People,” among others. This time, the contestants included Leslie Jones as Shanice, Chris Redd as Rashad — and Boseman as his “Black Panther” character, T’Challa, the king of a fictional, quasi-utopian, all-black African nation called Wakanda.
As you might imagine, T’Challa experienced a bit of culture shock. He bungled questions about credit-card debt and parenting, before buzzing in on a clue about law enforcement: “The policeman says there’s been some robberies in your neighborhood and asks if you have any information.” Boseman responded, “What is, not only do I tell this man what I know, but I also assist him in tracking down the offender. After all, our ministers of law enforcement are only here to protect us.”
Thompson twisted his features into an expression reminiscent of the nauseated face emoji. “I’m thinking you haven’t spent much time in America,” he said.
‘Weekend Update’ Riff of the Week
The “Weekend Update” co-anchor Colin Jost also addressed President Trump’s decision to send National Guard troops to the border with Mexico, even though, he pointed out, “reports show that illegal border crossings are at their lowest level since 1971.” He continued, “It’s all part of Trump’s philosophy: ‘If it ain’t broke, I’ll break it.”
‘Weekend Update’ Deskside Gag of the Week
A robotic Mark Zuckerberg, played by Alex Moffat, stopped by “Weekend Update” to address the criticism he has received since the Cambridge Analytica data leak. “Hi there, Colin,” he greeted Jost, before instructing himself to “begin eye contact.”
“Unlike my facial expression, Facebook is going to change,” Moffat promised, in an interview punctuated by high-pitched giggles and stiff attempts at dabbing.
He concluded with a disingenuous mea culpa:
“My point is, sure, maybe Facebook sold out our democracy to Russian troll farms. My bad? But, on the other hand: Farmville. To be honest, I feel great about Facebook’s future. I sleep easy at night, upside down in my pressurized sleep egg. And sure, I still have all your photos, your memories, your unspoken thoughts and fears. But, America, look at me in my shark eyes when I say this — that, on behalf of everyone on Facebook, I’m sorry. On opposite day!”
Probably Uncalled For Sketch of the Week
What started out as a sketch about three girlfriends at Disneyland found its punch line in the R&B singer R. Kelly — who has been the subject for many years of disturbing accusations. Staring into a “magic” mirror that had shown her friends their “personal Disney princesses,” Jones was surprised to find the leather-clad musician staring back at her, then gyrating with a bag of popcorn held over his crotch. “What are you up to R. Kelly? Why is R. Kelly in there?” she demanded. “The last place he needs to be is Disneyland!”
Shocking Reveal of the Week
The rapper Cardi B, who released her debut album, “Invasion of Privacy,” on Friday, played a medley of her biggest hits to date, “Bodak Yellow” and “Bartier Cardi,” in her first performance of the night. Clad in white and black fur, sporting close-cropped green hair, and flanked by four backup dancers, she delivered a typically energetic (and heavily bleeped) performance.
She showed off her softer side in a performance of a quieter “Invasion of Privacy” track, “Be Careful,” appearing in a long, high-necked dress with a retro beehive hairdo. When the camera pulled back from a close-up to show her torso, the form-fitting dress seemed to reveal that Cardi B was pregnant. Shortly after the performance, her fiancé, the rapper and Migos member Offset, seemed to confirm that impression on Instagram.
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