James Talarico Crashes Saturday Night Live Cold Open, Vows to Work Together With ‘Ass Man’ Trump

Sean JamesSun, November 8, 2026 at 5:11 AM UTC

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You knew it was coming.

Saturday Night Live kicked off its first show since the blue wave crashed down on the Republicans in the midterms by ribbing everyone from President Donald Trump to Vice President JD Vance to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and even old guard Democrats like Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).

But the star of the cold open was Senator-elect James Talarico (D), who sent the New York audience into a frenzy when the Texas progressive jumped on stage the moment “Trump” — played by James Austin Johnson — mentioned “Talafreako.”

“That’s Senator Talafreako,” Talarico quipped.

The crowd roared for 14 seconds before Talarico could get back to his routine.

“Hi America, I’m James Talarico, or the guy who’s been texting you everyday, asking you for five dollars,” he said.

“In this economy, who can blame you,” Trump chimed in.

“But I think, Mr. President, if we can work together, we can make life better for everyday Americans. It’s clear people want something new, they want something different. I’m talking, of course, about SNL’s cold opens. How many of these Trump freezes are they gonna do?” he asked.

“Infinity!” Trump insisted.

Talarico and Johnson then locked arms as he gave the trademark declaration: “Well in that case, there’s only one thing left to say: live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”

That moment capped off a midterms-heavy opening that started off with Jeffries (Kenan Thompson) and Schumer (Sarah Sherman) asking if it was time for them to “pass the torch” to the next generation of Democrats. That question led to a big roar from the crowd, but the lawmakers then burst out laughing.

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“No! Never!” Jeffries said.

They then started to make a toast to the Dems, only for Trump to run in and say they only won the House and the Senate because of him.

“I didn’t even say it was rigged, I accepted the results — which is almost scarier, in a way,” Trump joked. “It’s like, ‘what the hell is he planning?”

He then threw on a hardhat and said, “Ballroom! That’s it, that’s all I care about.”

The scene went on, hitting topics like Trump calling the Dems the “Dumocrats” and other things  that have been beaten into the ground. Colin Jost later came out as Hegseth and announced he would never ditch Trump, unlike some of the other “rats” around the president.

SNL then mocked Trump for his recent fixation on Sen. John Husted’s (R-OH) rump.

“Well Pete, I hate to see you go, but I love to watch you walk away. Ass! I’m an ass man,” Trump said.

“Really? You want the full show? I’ll give you the show.” Hegseth said, as he turned and strutted off.

“It’s what I’m into these days,” Trump added. “What a primo toilet on Pete.”

Watch above.

The post James Talarico Crashes Saturday Night Live Cold Open, Vows to Work Together With ‘Ass Man’ Trump first appeared on Mediaite.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”