'Hillary Clinton' sings a somber tune to open a post-election 'SNL'
Instead of a sketch, Kate McKinnon dressed in character as Hillary Clinton and sang Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" while playing a piano to open Saturday's episode. By doing so, it honored both the national protests of Donald Trump's presidential win and the death of singer and musician Cohen earlier this week.
After singing the song, "Clinton" said, "I'm not giving up and neither should you."
It was a surprising move for the show, which introduced a much more biting impersonation of Trump by Alec Baldwin in the final months of the election. Many fans probably wondered if Baldwin would reprise the impersonation after Trump's win.
In a pre-election interview earlier this week, Baldwin said he was ready to retire the character but did make room for its reprisal if Trump won.
"I hope it's over," the actor told WNYC radio. "If he wins, I imagine there could be some opportunity for that. But I want my weekends back, so I can go be with my kids."
After the election, Baldwin was clear about his disapproval of Trump's win, but no word on whether he'll reprise the impersonation.
While "SNL" has now adapted a somber tone after Trump's win, it should be mentioned that the show came under fire last November when the real-estate mogul hosted the show during the primaries. Just months before, NBC had said it would cut all ties with Trump after firing him from "The Apprentice" and deciding it would not air the Miss USA pageant, which was then partially owned by Trump. That episode ended up garnering "SNL's" highest ratings in nearly three years.
Watch "SNL's" somber show opening this past weekend below: