'SNL' opens with Alec Baldwin's Trump commanding Mike Pence to leave everything in protest

Alec Baldwin was back on "SNL" as Donald Trump this week, advising Mike Pence to leave all kinds of events for disrespecting the U.S. flag, the sanctity of marriage and Santa Claus.

The Wrap
October 15, 2017 at 11:50PM
Alec Baldwin returned to "Saturday Night Live" as President Donald Trump for its cold opening.
Alec Baldwin returned to "Saturday Night Live" as President Donald Trump for its cold opening. (Vince Tuss/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Alec Baldwin was back on "SNL" as Donald Trump this week, advising Mike Pence to leave all kinds of events for disrespecting the U.S. flag, the sanctity of marriage and Santa Claus.

Trump gave a stump speech in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in the sketch — "Harrass-burg," as Baldwin's Trump called it — but kept stopping his speech to check in with Beck Bennett's Mike Pence to see if anyone was being disrespectful at different events. It was a riff on a real event in which Pence attended an Indianapolis Colts game but left during the national anthem because players knelt during the national anthem.

Pence started by attending a basketball game, where he reported that players were kneeling during the national anthem.

"Get out of there Mike, bail, haul ass out of there!" Trump commanded.

Next, Trump caught up with Pence at a Starbucks. Baldwin's Trump asked whether the coffee shop had its holiday cups out, and whether they said "Merry Christmas."

When Pence reported they said "Pumpkin Spice is Back," Trump demanded Pence leave the store.

"We're going to start saying Merry Christmas again, and you can't disrespect our lord and savior Santa Claus like that," Trump said.

about the writer

about the writer

The Wrap

More from No Section

See More
FILE -- A rent deposit slot at an apartment complex in Tucker, Ga., on July 21, 2020. As an eviction crisis has seemed increasingly likely this summer, everyone in the housing market has made the same plea to Washington: Send money — lots of it — that would keep renters in their homes and landlords afloat. (Melissa Golden/The New York Times) ORG XMIT: XNYT58
Melissa Golden/The New York Times

It’s too soon to tell how much the immigration crackdown is to blame.