“Saturday Night Live” trained a spotlight on Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts as she rises in the polls in her run for the Democratic nomination for president.
The candidate, played by Kate McKinnon, was asked about her “Medicare for All” plan at a town hall event.
“Thank you for bringing up healthcare,” she said. “That is my ‘Despacito.'”
Someone asked how taxpayers would cover the costs.
“We’re talking trillions,” Warren said. “When the numbers are this big, they’re just pretend. It’s just a promise from a computer.”
Warren assured the crowd that billionaires like Jeff Bezos, whose Amazon essentially had a federal tax bill of zero last year, would start to pitch in more if she’s elected president.
“Jeff Bezos is going to go from paying no tax to a tax,” she said.
A member of the audience asked how her overall platform compared to that of rival and former Vice President Joe Biden’s.
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“My plank compares favorably in that it exists,” she answered.
The show also spoofed a news conference on C-SPAN featuring U.S. special operations forces dog Conan, injured in the raid that killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. President Donald Trump has praised the dog as an “American hero.”
A dog playing Conan was joined at a podium by a “special forces canine interpreter” portrayed by Cecily Strong.
“We’re going to take a few questions and then Conan’s going to meet with President Trump to explain the situation in Syria,” Strong said.
“I just want to ask who’s a good boy,” a reporter said.
“With all due respect, I’m a trained military assassin,” the dog responded.
Conan was asked how he navigated the dangers of a hostile region in northwestern Syria, where al-Baghdadi was found.
“The terrorists have guns and explosives,” he responded, “but at least they don’t have vacuum cleaners.”
News segment “Weekend Update” took on Trump’s announcement Thursday that he was moving his permanent residence from New York City to Florida.
Co-host Colin Jost, noting that the president’s personal attorney is former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, sympathized with Trump’s contention that he has been “treated very badly by the political leaders of both the city and state.”
“One local New York politician has been actively destroying his life,” Jost said.
Jost said Florida, where Trump owns the resort Mar-a-Lago, is an apt locale for the president.
“You know what they say — if you can’t drain the swamp. move to it,” he said.
Giuliani was roasted some more based on an NBC News report Thursday that despite being Trump’s official cybersecurity advisor, he went to an Apple store in 2017 to seek help unlocking his iPhone after he locked himself out of the device.
“Even Apple’s face ID couldn’t recognize the man Rudy has become,” Jost said.
Actor Kristen Stewart, who stars in the forthcoming “Charlie’s Angels,” took her second turn hosting the show. Coldplay performed as musical guest for a sixth time.