Colin Jost took a break from his usual "Weekend Update" duties to play Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in an entertaining cold open on Saturday Night Live. The segment opened with Hegseth, played by Jost, storming out to a press conference about "Operation Kill Everybody," slamming an energy drink and ordering reporters to shut up.
Hegseth quickly turned the tables, adopting a pro wrestling-esque persona and telling the assembled journalists to " Pretend I'm a random fishing boat and fire away." The segment's first question came from Mikey Day's character, who asked if Hegseth had authorized a second strike on survivors of an attack on a suspected drug-trafficking boat in September. Jost's Hegseth responded by claiming he wasn't even in the room, citing his need for emergency sponsorship.
The segment continued to escalate with Hegseth's increasing belligerence. When asked about Mark Kelly's criticisms, Hegseth took umbrage, pointing out that Kelly was a "girl's name" and suggesting that if he was just "playing Army," there wouldn't be 80 dead narcoterrorists in Venezuela right now.
The cold open then shifted gears, pivoting to Donald Trump, who was shown sleeping on stage, mumbling sweet nothings to New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. Trump defended Hegseth's recent comments about the "fog of war," stating that he would stick by his Cabinet official unless it could hurt him in any way.
The segment showcases Jost's impressive impersonation skills and the writers' ability to craft a humorous take on current events. The usual SNL pivot into politics was absent, allowing the sketch to stay focused on Hegseth's bizarre antics.
Hegseth quickly turned the tables, adopting a pro wrestling-esque persona and telling the assembled journalists to " Pretend I'm a random fishing boat and fire away." The segment's first question came from Mikey Day's character, who asked if Hegseth had authorized a second strike on survivors of an attack on a suspected drug-trafficking boat in September. Jost's Hegseth responded by claiming he wasn't even in the room, citing his need for emergency sponsorship.
The segment continued to escalate with Hegseth's increasing belligerence. When asked about Mark Kelly's criticisms, Hegseth took umbrage, pointing out that Kelly was a "girl's name" and suggesting that if he was just "playing Army," there wouldn't be 80 dead narcoterrorists in Venezuela right now.
The cold open then shifted gears, pivoting to Donald Trump, who was shown sleeping on stage, mumbling sweet nothings to New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. Trump defended Hegseth's recent comments about the "fog of war," stating that he would stick by his Cabinet official unless it could hurt him in any way.
The segment showcases Jost's impressive impersonation skills and the writers' ability to craft a humorous take on current events. The usual SNL pivot into politics was absent, allowing the sketch to stay focused on Hegseth's bizarre antics.
! Colin Jost absolutely crushed as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth - his wrestling persona had me LOLing 
. And can we talk about Trump trying to defend this guy? it was like watching a train wreck in slow motion 
. I love how the segment stayed focused on Hegseth's antics, no pivot into typical politics BS - SNL just did what they do best: skewering our politicians with humor 
, though! The whole "pretend I'm a random fishing boat" bit had me dying 
...
And that line about Mark Kelly being a "girl's name" tho... genius! 
But seriously, the way Jost nailed Hegseth's awkwardness and bluntness was spot on. I'm kinda surprised SNL went with this topic, it's not exactly an easy subject to tackle. Kudos to them for finding a funny angle 
and then tries to defend himself by saying he was just "playing Army" come on Pete, you're not fooling anyone 
. and can we talk about how Trump is literally mumbling sweet nothings to the mayor-elect while sleeping on stage? that's some next level weirdness right there 
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, showing just how out of touch Hegseth is with reality 
. Overall, that episode's highlight was Jost's impressive performance, and I'm excited for more! 
. I mean, who wouldn't want to watch Colin Jost go all out as Pete Hegseth and just lose his cool? 
, which is why we need more of that kind of fearless humor in our lives. It's like a breath of fresh air 
, you know?
. And can we talk about Donald Trump's cameo? 
The dude is literally sleeping on stage and mumbling something about fog of war... what even is that? 
. I mean, come on, Secretary Pete Hegseth throwing shade at a journalist because his name sounds like a girl's name? Give me a break 
. And then he has the nerve to claim he wasn't even in the room when asked about authorizing a strike? Yeah right 
. I'm just waiting for Trump to come out of his coma and start making some more "fog of war" magic happen... not that we need any more chaos in this world 
.
meanwhile, let's talk about how out of touch we all are with what's really going on in our country. like, who else but a satirical sketch can make you question what's real and what's just for laughs? it's wild.
I'm loving how Colin Jost effortlessly channels Pete Hegseth's persona, expertly capturing the Secretary of Defense's bombastic and erratic nature 
. It's refreshing to see SNL tackling tough topics without relying on cheap shots or pandering to controversy – instead, they opt for clever satire that leaves you questioning what's real and what's just good-natured fun 
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and i love how they poked fun at trump's sleepiness 
but seriously though, is this really the best we've got for satire in 2025? shouldnt we be tackling some actual issues instead of just making fun of government officials? 
️ It's great to see SNL taking risks and not playing it safe when it comes to tackling current events 