‘Joe’ hosts Scarborough, Brzezinski get satire engagement gift, with side of Alec Baldwin.
Late-night comedy visited morning political TV Saturday, as the hosts of MSNBC’s Morning Joe got the Saturday Night Live satire treatment.
President Trump (Alec Baldwin) made an appearance, too, although it was by phone and under an alias.
Moffat’s Scarborough and McKinnon’s Brzezinski could barely contain their underlying passion during a discussion of last week’s health-care vote in the House of Representatives, as the couple made suggestive comments (Joe to Mika: « You’re being very naughty. ») , bandied about cutesy pet names (« Mika mouse, » « Mika-boo ») . They came close to many almost-kisses with Brzezinski ultimately nibbling on Scarborough’s nose.
Joe regulars Mike Barnicle, Willie Geist and Mark Halperin (played by SNL regulars) appeared aghast.
Master impersonator McKinnon aced Brzezinski’s on-air demeanor, showing off a wide-eyed look and expressive body language, leaning back in her chair and trying to squeeze a word in as Scarborough pontificated. (McKinnon did double political duty later, playing Kellyanne Conway in a W here in the World is Carmen Sandiego? take-off commenting on the recent TV scarcity of the once-ubiquitous Trump adviser.)
The Joe sketch featured a call-in from a White House employee who said his name was John Miller, an alias reportedly assumed by Trump years ago when calling New York news organizations to talk up guess who’s accomplishments.
« I’m sort of new here, » Miller/Trump said, before butchering the pronunciation and meaning of Cinco de Mayo: « the day all Mexicans eat a sinkful of mayonnaise. »
He then went on to say he was « celebrating the fantastic success we had in Congress yesterday with the new health care law. » Scarborough then explained that the House bill still needed Senate passage before it could become law. Miller/Trump seemed stumped: « We’re going to look into this. »
The hosts then went back to being hot and bothered, leading up to what appeared to be a mention of their engagement. « OK, we’re going to address the elephant in the room: Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night . »
