NEW YORK — Alec Baldwin has returned to “Saturday Night Live.”
But the actor who won an Emmy for playing former President Donald Trump didn’t reprise that role — he returned Saturday night to play Fox News’ Bret Baier in an opening skit that spoofed this week’s interview with Kamala Harris.
Baldwin received loud cheers from the audience before revealing he was playing Baier, who he joked, “Yes, I do look like someone made a businessman in Minecraft.”
Rudolph’s Harris nervously laughed after shaking hands with Baldwin’s Baier, saying, “The pleasure is neither of ours.”
The skit poked fun at Baier’s real-life interruptions of Harris, with Baldwin repeatedly interrupting Rudolph in rapid-fire fashion.
Rudolph, after several interruptions to the first question: “May I please finish?”
Baldwin: “I’m asking you to.”
Rudolph: “Well, then you have to listen.”
Baldwin: “Well I can’t because I’m talking.”
Rudolph: “Well, When will you stop?”
“Maybe when I go to bed,” Baldwin responded, with the audience laughing loudly.
The skit also mocked a moment Baier acknowledged was a mistake by playing the wrong clip of a Trump response.
The clips allowed “SNL” to bring in mini-skits including one with Dana Carvey as President Joe Biden, who has played the role since the beginning of the comedy sketch show’s 50th season.
The skit closed — many interruptions later — with Harris asking: “Before I go, can I just say the thing I’ve been trying to say this whole time? Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!”, with Baldwin joining her.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” star Michael Keaton is hosting Saturday’s show, with Billie Eilish the musical host.
Baldwin has hosted “SNL” a record 17 times, but hasn’t appeared on it recently. His involuntary manslaughter trial over the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the film “Rust” ended in July in a mistrial.
