It’s been an exciting week for newly elected Texas Senator James Talarico, and he ended it with a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live.
Talarico, who became the first Democrat to win a Texas Senate seat since 1988, made a surprise entrance during a sketch featuring Chuck Schumer, played by Sarah Sherman, and Hakeem Jeffries, portrayed by Kenan Thompson. The two Democrats were celebrating their party’s victory.
“They said we’d never turn Texas blue, and we proved them wrong,” Sherman said.
Donald Trump, played by James Austin Johnson, then appeared and told the Democrats they were welcome for their victory. JD Vance, portrayed by Jeremy Culhane, and Pete Hegseth, played by Colin Jost, later joined the presidential monologue.
The sketch took another turn when Talarico walked in, appearing as himself.
“Hi America, I’m James Talarico, the guy who’s been texting you everyday asking for $5,” the newly elected senator said as the audience welcomed him with cheers.
“In this economy, who can blame you,” Johnson responded while portraying Trump.
“But I think, Mr. President, if we could work together, we can make life better for everyday Americans,” Talarico continued.
He then joked about the show’s repeated political sketches, adding: “It’s clear the people want something new, they want something different. I’m talking of course about SNL’s cold opens. How many of these Trump freezers are they going to do?”
“Infinity!” Trump replied.
“Well in that case, there’s only one thing left to say,” Talarico added.
The two then put their arms around each other and delivered the show’s iconic closing line together: “Live from New York it’s Saturday night!”
During the sketch, the fictional Trump also referred to Talarico as “Talafreako,” a nickname the real president had repeatedly used during the senator’s campaign.
Talarico appeared to take the joke in stride, sharing the clip on his X account with the caption: “That’s Senator Talafreako.”
“Talafreako” is not the only mocking nickname Trump has used. The president has also regularly referred to Democrats as “Dumbocrats.”
However, the 70-year-old now appears willing to put aside his insults for six months if doing so could help secure political agreements.
When asked whether he would stop criticizing Democrats for that period, Trump said he could do so “very easily.”
The comments were part of a 60 Minutes interview scheduled to air on Sunday night. It was expected to be his first sit-down interview since his party suffered a major defeat in the midterm elections.
Trump has nevertheless made it clear that he believes the election loss was largely because he himself was not on the ballot.
“I feel that I wasn’t on the ballot, and there was nothing that could be done about that,” he said in an interview with CBS News.
“If I was, we would have won.”
