"Saturday Night Live" paid tribute to Donald Trump's victory in its first episode since the election. In its own way, the show addressed the election of a new president while also honoring Canadian singer, songwriter, novelist and poet Leonard Cohen who passed away on Nov. 7.
Kate McKinnon kicked off the show by sitting on the piano as Hillary Clinton, singing Cohen's famous tune "Hallelujah." The cold opening was apart from the typical humor of the show when it comes to the presidential race.
The skit with the somber note contained both Clinton's shocking loss to Trump and Cohen's death. The 32-year-old comedian and actress often depicted the Democratic presidential nominee throughout the campaign as confident of her upcoming win especially against the now president-elect Trump.
"I did my best, it wasn't much," McKinnon sang. "...And even though it all went wrong, I'll stand before the Lord of Song with nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah."
McKinnon's conclusion of "I'm not giving up, and neither should you" left an open question of who was not giving up - Clinton, McKinnon or "Saturday Night Live." The show's "Weekend Update" hinted that Clinton's political career may continue and McKinnon herself is hardworking. When it comes to the resilience of the NBC show, it has given up on political satire a year ago, according to Time.
Alec Baldwin, "Saturday Night Live's" Donald Trump was nowhere to be seen despite the electoral win of real-life Trump. The show decided not to present the president-elect's caricature which could be untimely, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The things that viewers laugh on Baldwin's take on Trump may not be humorous for the next few weeks or months.
The episode on Nov. 12, Saturday, had hip hop trio A Tribe Called Quest as musical guests and Dave Chappelle as the host. Chappelle gave a good monologue which had election commentary and the country's political problems. He earnestly mentioned he did not know Trump will win.
"I did suspect it," Chappelle said. "It seemed like Hillary was doing well in the polls and yet - I know the whites. You guys aren't as full of surprises as you used to be."
Here is McKinnon singing "Hallelujah!":