It was a tumultuous week for the Democratic Party. The Iowa caucuses ended in shambles with no decisive winner. President Trump was acquitted. A still-crowded field of presidential candidates unleashed attacks on each other ahead of the New Hampshire primary.
The skit parodied Friday night’s Democratic debate, with a mock George Stephanopoulos asking the candidates about their performances in the Hawkeye State.
Losing Iowa was a real setback, said a fake Joe Biden, played by Jason Sudeikis, using a vulgar expression to express his disappointment. “But by the time we get to South Cacky-lacky, Joe Biden is going to do what Joe Biden does best, creep up from behind and kiss you on the neck,” the fake former vice president said.
Stephanopoulos, played by Mikey Day, then asked Colin Jost’s Pete Buttigieg who he thought really won the Iowa caucuses.
“Donald Trump,” he replied.
“I mean out of the Democrats,” the moderator fired back.
“Oh,” the mock Buttigieg answered sheepishly, “then I guess me.”
Larry David reprised his role as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), bellowing that the technical disaster that unfolded in Iowa Monday night all happened because of a faulty app.
“Hey, I have an idea for an app,” he said. “It’s called ‘no apps.” No apps, no computers, no gadgets, no gizmos. You show up to the polling place, take a number like you do at the butcher. They call your ticket, you walk up to the counter and say to the guy, ‘Give me a pound of whatever’s about to go bad.’”
Bowen Yang was back as Andrew Yang, who wagged his signature “MATH” lapel pin, saying, “Oh, the issue and Iowa was math? I wonder who they could have called to help them out with that.”
Kate McKinnon’s Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who finished third in the Iowa race, tried to steer things in a different direction, looking ahead to the New Hampshire contest on Tuesday. She felt confident, she said. “I tend to really connect with New England moms who own big dogs and rock a fleece vest.”
Rachel Dratch played Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who regularly rates highly in the debates but has struggled to translate her strong performances into significant gains in the polls.
“Why am I not doing better?” she asked on SNL’s debate stage. “I’m the most reasonable person onstage. Instead of tearing everyone down, I get along with everyone up here.”
At one point, the mock debate was interrupted by a word from the debate’s “sponsor,” Mike Bloomberg, played, as usual, by Fred Armisen.
From there, the debate gave way to jokes about Sanders’s “Bernie Bro” followers online and Buttigieg’s trouble appealing to black voters. Pete Davidson also made an appearance as businessman Tom Steyer.
