MAGA fans are outraged at Saturday Night Live after the show mocked Republican efforts to secure votes ahead of the midterms and made fun of Mitch McConnell.
As the 2026 midterm elections scheduled for November 3 approach, polling looks favorable for the Democratic Party, which is projected to take back control of the House of Representatives and potentially even the Senate.
Republicans swept both houses of Congress in 2024 amid a landslide Electoral College victory for Donald Trump, but key demographics that ushered in the party have been shifting away from the president.
As a result, the GOP has been amplifying efforts to reach voters with ads running during conservative TV programming and a string of pre-recorded videos posted by Trump on Truth Social encouraging Republicans to vote.
During Saturday Night Live’s cold open in its most recent episode, the show alluded to those efforts and the key demographics moving away from the president, namely Hispanics and traditional Republicans.
The open began with cast member Ashley Padilla saying: ‘The midterm polling is looking bleak, and hopefully these ad spots will get the base excited.’
Marcello Hernandez then came out as Secretary of State Marco Rubio before Padilla said: ‘We really need your help with Latino voters.’
Hernandez then gave an absurd speech in Spanish criticizing Trump. ‘Oh my God! He tricked us!’ the cast member said before mocking the US’s action in Venezuela and Iran and joking about Trump’s diet.
Saturday Night Live mocked Republican efforts to reach voters ahead of the midterms. Cast member Marcello Hernandez (right) is pictured portraying Secretary of State Marco Rubio
Hernandez gave an absurd speech in Spanish mocking Trump after fellow cast member Ashley Padilla said: ‘We really need your help with Latino voters’
Cast member Mike Day portrayed Senator Mitch McConnell, who has been ailing since a hospitalization in June
‘I don’t know what you said, but that sounded great!’ Padilla said once Hernandez was done.
Later in the sketch, she said: ‘We need this next guy to get the Reagan Republicans out to the polls.’
Mike Day was then rolled out in a wheelchair as ailing Senator Mitch McConnell, who was kept out of the public eye for months following a hospitalization in June.
Since McConnell’s return to the Senate floor last month, reporters have followed him outside his home and around Capitol Hill attempting to ask him questions on camera, but the senator appears confused in the videos and does not speak.
Instead, McConnell frequently flashes a peace sign in response to whatever he is asked, which has prompted concern, ridicule and memes.
Day alluded to the situation with his portrayal of McConnell during the open, as he kept a confused open-mouthed expression on his face during most of the performance.
After Padilla said, ‘action!’ Day remained frozen in place and did not say a word.
‘Action!’ Padilla repeated. ‘Any time sir, Action!’ She repeated a third time.
McConnell has frequently held up peace signs in response to reporters’ questions since he returned to the Senate. Day is pictured emulating that behavior in his portrayal of the senator
MAGA fans expressed their outrage at the cold open in tweets such as this one and those below
Day then slowly held up a peace sign. ‘Okay peace sign, very cool. And say the line,’ Padilla said.
‘Live from New York,’ Day then began, referencing the line said at the end of every Saturday Night Live episode.
‘No no no, not yet,’ Padilla said before Day was wheeled out of frame.
The cold open drew raucous laughter from the audience, but MAGA fans expressed their disdain online.
‘The most woke show ever. Sucks,’ one user tweeted on X.
‘So its ok to laugh at disabled people now? Ok got it,’ another user said.
‘We had [braindead] Biden for 4 years and they never [did] anything like this,’ a third user wrote.
Another added: ‘SNL is not doing well. But if they push it, Trump will probably have it canceled.’
And a fifth disgruntled viewer wrote: ‘I swear to God if @snl #SaturdayNightLive does a Trump opening for the premiere, I’m not watching the whole season. All those writer and this is STILL the only topic they can do a skit about??!’
