Talarico makes ‘Saturday Night Live’ appearance after Texas win

Sen.-elect James Talarico (D-Texas) made an appearance on “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) over the weekend following his historic win in the Lone Star State in Tuesday’s elections.

The sketch — called the “ Post-Midterm Cold Open ” — featured two cast members dressed as Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), respectively played by Sarah Sherman and Kenan Thompson. The pair was celebrating the Democratic Party’s win in the election, which saw the caucus take definitive control of the House and Senate.

The Democrats were interrupted by President Trump, played by James Austin Johnson, who lamented the GOP’s losses this election cycle. Towards the end of his monologue, he referenced Trump’s nickname for the incoming Senator from Texas: “Talafreako.”

Talarico appeared from the wings and introduced himself as “the guy who’s been texting you every day asking for $5.”

“In this economy, who can blame you?” Trump’s parody said.

“But I think, Mr. President, if we can work together, we can make life better for everyday Americans,” Talarico told the audience. “It’s clear people want something new. They want something different. I’m talking, of course, about SNL’s cold opens.”

The sketch also included parodied cameos from Vice President Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, which mentioned attempts in the House to impeach the head of the Pentagon.

Though SNL is known for its comedy, Talarico has been honest while on the campaign trail about working with Trump and the MAGA movement on expanding health care access, building new homes and “slash[ing] the red tape.”

Talarico expressed in an interview with “ The Diary of a CEO ” that there was “still time to do that” in the last two years of Trump’s second term in the White House “on a bipartisan basis.”

“So my hope is that this midterm will be a wake-up call for the president, for his administration, and as a result, they will reverse course,” he concluded.

As of Sunday, Talarico is ahead of Paxton by around 12 points with over 95 percent of the ballots counted in a surprise win for Democrats in the red stronghold, according to The Hill’s partner, Decision Desk HQ .