On Thursdayâs âWeekend Update,â Colin Jost and Michael Che slammed Donald Trump and Nazis over Charlottesville, while Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers made cameos. Watch the video above.
The episode began with Jost poking fun at Trumpâs approval rating, saying that the president seems to think heâs doing well because âpeople are always waving to him.â A photo then appeared on screen of the neo-Nazis giving the âheil Hitlerâ salute in Charlottesville. Che, who seemed a bit uncomfortable and mumbled something about not âwant[ing] to do this,â then said, âNazis? Confederates? Whatâs with all these old-timey threats making comebacks? Whatâs next? Vikings? Polio?â He also said the weekend was full of âracist white guys trying to rebrand themselvesâ and noted âTrump defended these angry virgins.â
Of General Kellyâs stoic reaction at Trumpâ fiery press conference, Jost cracked, âHe looks like a homophobic dad at his sonâs dance recital.â He further suspected Kelly did get Trumpâs âboth sidesâ argument: He was using âboth the left and right side of his brain.â Che went on to say that Confederate statues can come down, until theyâre âquietlyâ brought back âlike âThe Cosby Show.'â And Jost added that if white supremacist are mad now, âJust wait til next week when even the sun turns black.â
Che brought up the counter-argument that George Washington owned slaves, and therefore his monuments should come down, too. That led Fallon to appear in character as the first president, who showed off his âdollar bill faceâ and âquarter face.â Che pointed out that Washington âwasnât very great,â to which Fallonâs Washington confessed, âYes, I did cut down that cherry tree.â When Che said thatâs not what he was talking about, Washington fired back, âYou gonna do me like that on national TV?â Washington thought it was about exposing his wooden teeth, but the âSNLâ personality told him, âI think the issue is that you and Robert E. Lee both owned slaves.â
âThat was wrong. That was bad,â Fallonâs Washington responded. âBut if you want to talk about owning slaves, you should talk about Thomas Jefferson.â Cue Meyers popping up as Jefferson, insisting, âIt was a different time, man. It was the 70s, man. It was the 1770s⊠The difference between us and Robert E. Lee is we also did good things.â They pointed to the Declaration of Independence and winning the Revolutionary War.
Together they told Che, âIn the end, Michael, we donât need statues to commemorate us. Our legacy is the country that we risked our lives to create. And that is why this great country has given us an honor greater than any statue: A three-day weekend in February in which all Americans get 50 percent off all mattresses.â
As Gossip Cop reported, the summer edition of âWeekend Updateâ premiered last week. The âSaturday Night Liveâ spinoff series takes the popular recurring âSNLâ segment, anchored by Jost and Che, and expands it for 30 minutes. The goal is to give fans the NBC sketch comedy seriesâ biting take on current events in the weeks leading up to the new season. Later in tonightâs second installment, UVA alum Tina Fey spoke out about Charlottesville, too. Check out the opening video above.