On Saturday’s coronavirus quarantine episode of “SNL” — the first pre-taped new episode in the show’s 45-year history — Alec Baldwin showed up during “Weekend Update” to once again portray Donald Trump as he detailed some other ideas for racist names to call COVID-19 besides “Chinese virus.”
Watch the whole clip above right now.
Baldwin’s Trump, represented on screen by a still photo, called in to “Weekend Update” to talk about how he’s handling the coronavirus pandemic, and he started the appearance by bragging about his TV ratings, as the IRL Trump keeps doing even as the national disaster unfolds on his watch. “My approval rating is up, my TV ratings are through the roof. Every night at 7 p.m., all of New York claps and cheers for the great job I’m doing.”
“Weekend Update” co-anchor Michael Che tried to gently point out that that last bit isn’t actually for Trump (it’s for health care workers during hospital shift changes). But Trump wasn’t having it. “You’re wrong, LeBron. You’re wrong,” he barked.
Che then asked Baldwin’s Trump for his advice for getting through the pandemic, “because it seems to change every 24 hours.” Baldwin’s Trump spat out that this was “a nasty question” as his real-life counterpart keeps doing, then continued with an answer that essentially summarized President Trump’s last two months.
“All along I’ve always said it was a giant hoax that we should take very seriously even though it was invented by the Democrats to impeach me, part two,” Baldwin’s Trump said. “So everyone needs to wash their hands, or not.”
Baldwin’s Trump then told Che and his “Weekend Update” co-host Colin Jost that “we have to listen to the experts on this one: Me, Hannity, Jared Kushner and Mike Lindell from MyPillow. But all the experts agree, we need to wear masks.”
“So are you wearing a mask?” asked Jost.
“That’s a nasty question, OK? No I am not,” said Baldwin-Trump. “Last time I wore a mask I hotboxed myself and passed out. And I can’t wear a mask in my tanning bed, or when I take it off I’d be dark up top with a white circle around my mouth like a reverse Homer Simpson.”
Shortly after, Che and Jost brought up how Trump has quietly stopped referring to coronavirus as the “Chinese virus.” “I had to tone down the ethnic slurs after I discovered that everything we need to survive the virus is made in China, OK?” Baldwin’s Trump explained, before he asked, “Wanna hear some of the other names we workshopped?”
“OK, we had Chinese flu. And of course Hong Kong Fluey. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Symptoms,” Baldwin’s Trump said.
“Wang Chung Lung. And then there’s General Tso’s Revenge,” Baldwin’s Trump continued. “Stephen Miller came up with Yellow Fever but that’s already a thing, it’s when a white dude is horny for an Asian chick.”