Saturday Night Live’s Michael Che mocked a recent video of Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell appearing completely checked out as an aide wheeled him away from reporters.
In the clip a reporter asks him, “Senator, are you here against your own will?” McConnell responded simply by flashing a two-fingered “peace” sign.
Che addressed the clip on his first “Weekend Update” segment of the Season 52 premiere.
“A video was posted of Senator Mitch McConnell returning to his Washington, D.C. home and giving reporters the ‘peace’ symbol,” Che said, “to show what he refuses to rest in.”
Che’s joke comes amid months of scrutiny over McConnell’s health. The 84-year-old senator disappeared from the public eye throughout most of the summer, and has drawn scrutiny over his demeanor in public appearances since.
Top vascular surgeon Dr. Anahita Dua told the Daily Beast earlier this month that McConnell “is in no position to be going onto the Senate floor,” and that he is “probably in pain, probably unable to do the basic things like something as simple as [going] to the bathroom.”
“Weekend Update” co-anchor Colin Jost, meanwhile, made fun of President Donald Trump for flinching at a military jet flyover during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s arrival in the United States on Wednesday.
“I don’t know if [Trump] projected strength,” Jost said, “but it looks like he projected something.”
Che later joked about Trump’s ongoing battle against the press.
“The White House responded to major news networks canceling coverage of President Trump by launching a livestream called Trump TV,” Che said. “But if that’s Trump TV, then what the hell is Paramount Plus?”
Che showed a graphic listing several of the streaming service’s more conservative-coded TV programs, including Yellowstone and Tulsa King, in a joke that got a delayed laugh from the audience.
Che drew one of his biggest laughs of the night in a joke about the ongoing controversy of Ed Sheeran dropping rapper Macklemore from his U.S. tour due to his pro-Palestine comments.
“[Macklemore] announced that he is launching a Free Palestine tour,” Che said. “But haven’t the Palestinian people been through enough?”
