‘SNL’ Weekend Update mocks Biden as 'acquired taste' for nation that lost that sense to coronavirus
The cold open also took shots at Biden, with a spoof of him blaming the coronavirus surge on too many moviegoers seeing 'Spider-Man'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Saturday Night Live’s" Weekend Update news segment didn’t hold back on President Biden’s struggles with his stalled policy agenda and tumbling approval ratings this weekend, comparing them to a cell phone's "power save mode."
"Well just like everybody else, President Biden’s New Year’s resolutions fell apart in the third week of January," co-anchor Colin Jost joked from behind the Weekend Update news desk Saturday. "The Supreme Court struck down his vaccine mandate, the voting rights bill got blocked and his approval rating's so low it’s gone into power save mode."
In a measure of cold comfort to Biden, Jost also alluded to another president who he said had "failed in his first term" but later became revered through statues honoring him. He revealed he was talking about Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States, who was charged with treason after the Civil War.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}‘SNL’ COLD OPEN SHOWS BIDEN BLAMING COVID SURGE ON ‘SPIDER-MAN’ MOVIE FANS
While trying to encourage senators to go around the filibuster to pass voting rights legislation last week, Biden actually brought up Davis, asking lawmakers if they wanted to be "on the side of Abraham Lincoln or Jefferson Davis?"
Colin Jost and Michael Che, the "Weekend Update" anchors on "Saturday Night Live." (Getty Images)
Jost said he thinks Biden just needs more time to adjust to the Oval Office as he may be an "acquired taste" as president.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Unfortunately most Americans recently lost their sense of taste," he joked, referring to the coronavirus.
Co-anchor Michael Che said Biden asserted in his voting rights speech in Atlanta last Tuesday that he was "tired of being quiet."
"And to prove it he took a 20-minute standing nap," he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Joe Biden speaks in support of changing the Senate filibuster rules to ensure the right to vote is defended, at Atlanta University Center Consortium, on the grounds of Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University, Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022, in Atlanta. (Associated Press)
Che also took a dig at Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who Che said had criticized Biden’s voting-rights speech, calling it "beneath his office."
"Coincidentally, beneath his office is also where he buries the homeless men he hunts for sport," Che joked of McConnell.
Jost also said that the one upside to voter suppression may be that no one would ever have to hear Republican Sen. Ted Cruz say "Fo' shizzle!" while attempting to court Black voters.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Frankly, no one wants to hear me say it either, but it's too late, it's already a GIF," he laughed in front of a graphic of a pre-made GIF of him uttering the phrase.
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Earlier, in the cold open, new cast member James Austin Johnson showcased his Biden impression while trying to convince reporters in a fake news conference that the recent omicron surge could be blamed solely on too many people going to see "Spider-Man: No Way Home."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Stop seeing ‘Spider-Man!’" he pleaded to laughs from the audience.
Actress Ariana DeBose guest-hosted Saturday's episode and Bleachers performed as the musical guest.