Saturday Night Live mocked Pete Hegseth and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in its October 10 cold open. Colin Jost played Hegseth, who joked about military conditions and combat missions. James Austin Johnson played RFK Jr., who poked fun at public health messaging. The sketch used satire to target Trump’s Cabinet members.
Saturday Night Live mocked US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in its latest cold open. The comedy sketch made fun of the two members of President Donald Trump's Cabinet through jokes about the military, public executions, health concerns and food safety.
In the October 10 episode, SNL showed Hegseth, played by Colin Jost, and RFK Jr., played by James Austin Johnson, delivering speeches to sailors aboard the USS Lincoln. The sailors had recently completed a 322-day deployment.
When one sailor said, "We're bad," Hegseth pretended to hear "awesome" instead. The joke portrayed him as ignoring the sailors' actual feelings and pretending that everything was going well.
Hegseth congratulated the sailors on returning safely to San Diego after seven months at war. He also joked that Trump had just asked Iran to bomb the city. The character then claimed that only eight sailors had attempted suicide, including two while he was speaking.
Hegseth praised the sailors for carrying out more than 3,000 combat missions. He claimed there had been zero casualties and zero flight mishaps, but added that there had also been "zero working toilets." The joke contrasted the military's achievements with the poor conditions faced by service members, according to TV Insider.
Hegseth added that if the man somehow survived the firing squad, he would have to fight boxer and internet personality Jake Paul. The joke combined the subject of public executions with celebrity boxing.
When the sailor insisted that the logo looked identical to a Nazi eagle, Hegseth responded with a crude sexual joke about the sailor's mother. The exchange continued the sketch's mockery of Hegseth and the controversial appearance of the fictionalised logo.
RFK Jr. said he wanted to officially rename cold and flu season as "cold and flue and listeria and measles and trench brain season." The exaggerated list included illnesses and health conditions to mock the secretary's public health messaging, according to TV Insider.
The character also claimed that officials were investigating something called "testicular dementia." The line was another deliberately absurd health-related joke in the sketch.
The character thanked the sailors for testing the recalled meat on themselves before beginning to speak gibberish. Hegseth then slapped him on the back, after which RFK Jr. was able to speak clearly again. The scene used physical comedy to continue the jokes about health and food safety, according to TV Insider.
The sketch ended with Hegseth delivering the show's familiar closing line: "And live from New York, it's Saturday Night!" The cold open used exaggerated impressions and dark humour to poke fun at Hegseth, RFK Jr. and issues involving the US military, government and public health, according to TV Insider.