“Saturday Night Live” writers imagined what some Republicans are saying behind Donald Trump’s back in a crisp cold open this weekend.
Set at a Washington, D.C., party celebrating Trump’s South Carolina primary win, the sketch starts with GOP Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Jim Risch (Idaho) anxiously griping about the former president.
Raising his drink to Trump and his 21-point victory, Rubio (played by Marcello Hernandez) said, “I guess Trump owns the Republican Party now.”
With a sigh, Risch (played by Mikey Day) told his colleague he was baffled by the GOP’s unwavering support for the businessman and his erratic behavior.
Citing Trump’s torpedoing of Ukraine funding, the Idaho senator said, “The man doesn’t care about this country one iota. Sometimes I think he’s downright dangerous.”
“And you just endorsed him, right?” Rubio asked.
“Yeah! Big time. Big time,” Risch grinned, before making sure everyone within earshot could hear him say, “He’s great … He is incredible!”
Also burned by the all but inevitable Republican presidential candidate, Rubio explained what it’s like to be stuck with his Trump-assigned nickname, “Little Marco.”
“I’ve never been able to shake it,” said Rubio. “People still yell at me in airports. He kind of made my life hell.”
Folding like Risch, Rubio reminded his co-worker he had also endorsed the reputation-sullied New York businessman.
When South Carolina Sens. Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham sat down, they were similarly spineless.
“What I love about him personally is he doesn’t have a racist bone in his body,” Devon Walker said as Scott.
Even Rubio had trouble agreeing with that, asking everyone if they heard Trump claim, “Black people like him better now because he has a mugshot.”
“Yeah, my man got street cred!” Scott cheered.
“I’d never compromise my integrity for Donald Trump,” he went on. “But I might if he made me vice president!”
Last week at a Fox News town hall event, Trump revealed that Scott, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard were all on his shortlist for VP.
