James Talarico Appears in SNL’s Post-Election Cold Open

Texas senator-elect James Talarico appeared as himself in the cold open of Saturday Night Live’s first post-election episode, joining actor James Austin Johnson, who portrayed President Donald Trump, in a sketch about the midterm results.

The scene opened with Johnson’s Trump character referring to Talarico by the nickname “Talafreako” while listing Democratic candidates. Talarico then entered and joked that he had been texting people every day to ask for five dollars during his Senate campaign. Johnson responded, “In this economy, who can blame you?”

Talarico proposed working with the president to improve life for everyday Americans, then turned the line into a joke about viewers wanting something different from the show’s recurring Trump cold opens. Johnson’s character answered that the sketches would continue indefinitely. The two ended the exchange with the show’s familiar “Live from New York” introduction.

Talarico’s appearance followed his victory in a Texas Senate race against Republican Ken Paxton, according to the reports. He was identified as senator-elect in coverage of the episode. The sketch used the election result as its starting point, with other parts of the cold...