There's only one person who does a better job of playing Bernie Sanders than Bernie Sanders, and that is Larry David. Following David's hosting gig a couple of weeks back, he has now returned to Saturday Night Live to impersonate the Democratic presidential candidate.
On last night's SNL, hosted by Ariana Grande (who also served as musical guest), David reprised his Sanders role in the show's cold open. While the opening scene was mostly concerned with Donald Trump—and the endorsement he received this past week from former competitor Ben Carson—SNL also gave us a great Bern moment, one that really speaks to issues the candidate has faced and will continue to face moving forward.
After bringing Carson (Jay Pharoah) onstage, SNL took a real jab at some of this past week's events, particularly looking at the protesters who didn't want the Republican front-runner to rally in Chicago. In the best (and probably most controversial) moment of the sketch, Trump Darrell Hammond appears with Carson onstage. Carson holds a steak over his eye, and Trump has to remind his supporters, "Guys! What did I say? Not this one! This is one of the good ones!"
The comment not only refers to the fact that Trump has a pretty white fan base, but also of his recent endorsement from a white supremacist.
Breaking up these bits was a scene that took us to Sanders hotel room. Sanders was by no means safe from SNL's criticism either, and much of it was similar to the Trump's. After being congratulated for his surprising win over Hillary Clinton in Michigan, Sanders talked about his target demographic. David as Sanders said, "I have the voters. My message is resonating with a very diverse group of white people." He added, "I've got supporters of all ages, 18-year-olds, 19-year olds."
Last night no one was safe.
