Three months ago, he was facing jail. Now Alec Baldwin is back on SNL
By Dave Itzkoff
A Fox News interview of US Vice President Kamala Harris was an inevitable subject of satire on this week’s Saturday Night Live. The opening sketch that parodied it also marked the return of Alec Baldwin, a frequent SNL guest and host who played former president Donald Trump in SNL sketches during the 2016 presidential campaign and Trump’s time in office.
Baldwin, playing the network’s chief political anchor Bret Baier, was making his first appearance on SNL since an involuntary manslaughter case against him was dismissed in July, following a judge’s ruling that the state had withheld evidence in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on a film.
In the sketch, Baldwin was seated opposite Maya Rudolph, in her recurring role as Harris. He introduced himself as Baier, adding, “and to clear the air, yes, I do look like someone made a businessman in Minecraft”.
He said it was a pleasure to welcome Rudolph onto Fox News, to which Rudolph replied, “The pleasure is neither of ours.”
Baldwin quickly posed a leading question to Rudolph – “Give me the exact number of murderers you let loose in this country,” he said – and he interrupted her each time she attempted to respond. “A million? Two million?” he asked, adding, “Ten million? Give me a number.”
Rudolph boasted of her success prosecuting international drug cartels. “If I was in Breaking Bad it would have ended in three episodes,” she said.
Alec Baldwin as Bret Baier and Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris in SNL’s sketch of the Fox News interview.Credit: NBC via Getty Images
When Baldwin accused her of trying to generate viral moments, Rudolph denied this, then turned directly to the camera and recorded a TikTok video, saying, “See how I don’t let them interrupt my answers? Very demure, very mindful.”
Baldwin threw to what he said was a previously recorded segment from a Fox News town hall with Trump (James Austin Johnson) and Fox News host Harris Faulkner, who asked Johnson to respond to accusations that he is unhinged and dangerous.
“I heard about that,” Johnson answered. “They said I was threatening. Not true. I would never threaten anything except perhaps violence.”
Baldwin went onto play video of Johnson dancing to Y.M.C.A. and a clip that he said was President Joe Biden commenting on Harris’ candidacy: It was Dana Carvey, as Biden, warning: “It’s a total tragedy. I’m not kidding around. Everything she touches will be destroyed. No joke. Watch out, Florida.”
Alec Baldwin hugs one of his attorneys after a judge threw out the involuntary manslaughter case against him in July.Credit: AP
Rudolph said that Baldwin had played a misleading clip. “He’s clearly talking about the hurricane,” she said.
Baldwin also introduced the recreation of a scene from a Univision town hall on Wednesday, where an audience member asked Trump to account for his actions during the January 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol.
Johnson, as Trump, replied that January 6 had been a day of “love and peace”, adding, “It was basically Woodstock. People were being peaceful. No one died except for the few that did.” Then he danced to It’s Raining Men.
Rudolph was baffled. “Does he not listen to the lyrics?” she asked.
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