'Saturday Night Live' spoofs JD Vance and Tim Walz's vice presidential debate in cold open

'SNL' offered a hilarious takedown of key moments from JD Vance and Tim Walz's October 1 VP debate, including the Minnesota governor's shakiness
PUBLISHED OCT 6, 2024
Bowen Yang as JD Vance and Jim Gaffigan as Tim Walz on 'Saturday Night Live' (Saturday Night Live/Screengrab)
Bowen Yang as JD Vance and Jim Gaffigan as Tim Walz on 'Saturday Night Live' (Saturday Night Live/Screengrab)

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: 'Saturday Night Live' spoofed the vice presidential debate for the second episode of Season 50.

During the episode's cold open, Bowen Yang took on the role of an awkward JD Vance while Jim Gaffigan returned as a goofy Tim Walz.

Apart from taking subtle digs at the running mates, the skit also poked fun at some of the rules imposed by the moderators who said there would be no fact-checking but then did it anyway. 

At one point, Vance and Walz were shown gazing into one another's eyes across the debate stage as it mocked how the pair found "common ground" between the two, as per the Daily Mail



 

Saturday Night Live's takedown of vice presidential debate

The episode's cold open started with Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris and Andy Samberg as Doug Emhoff sitting down on their couch to watch the debate.

Rudolph's Harris said, "I am feeling good tonight. We have got momentum. Liz Cheney's about to endorse me and Bruce Springsteen. Cause baby I was born to run."

SNL's Heidi Gardner and Chloe Fineman portrayed the roles of CBS News debate moderators Norah O'Donnell and Margaret Brennan.

On the debate stage, Yang's Vance said, "Thank you for having me. I want to begin with something that will appeal to women voters. I understand that both the moderators tonight are mothers and I like that." The cameras then cut to Gaffigan's Walz who was seen scribbling on a stack of papers.

The moderators asked him, "Are you preparing your answers?" to which he replied, "No, I gotta grade these papers. Got a stack of midterms."

Real-life Walz is a former educator who used to teach in the late 1980s and early '90s.

NEW YORK - OCTOBER 01: Republican vice presidential candidate, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), and Democratic vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, participate in a debate at the CBS Broadcast Center on October 1, 2024 in New York City. This is expected to be the only vice presidential debate of the 2024 general election. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
JD Vance and Tim Walz during their debate at the CBS Broadcast Center on October 1, 2024 (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

During the 'SNL' debate, fake Vance and Walz quoted almost direct comments that the running mates said during the October 1 faceoff, before reaching out to touch hands.

The fake Walz called himself a "knucklehead," while the fake Vance sternly said, "We said no fact-checking." 



 

In the cold open of the first episode of 'Saturday Night Live' Season 50, James Austin Johnson, who played Donald Trump, was seen begging his followers not to flee his rally as Rudolph's Harris boasted her "vibe slaps."

The episode drew 5.3 million viewers in the Nielsen Live+Same Day ratings, as per Variety

Internet doesn't find 'Saturday Night Live' vice presidential debate spoof funny

While the opening episode of 'Saturday Night Live' made headlines, viewers didn't seem to be thrilled about the latest installment. 

An online comment read, "I can't bring myself to watch it. These are not funny times," while another wrote, "When the best parts are the music and Weekend Update they have failed, especially with such great source material."

"Snl cold opens have become meandering circle jerks devoid of humor and Dana Carvey's Biden impression is particularly bad," remarked a person. 

An individual expressed, "SNL is occasionally clever, but rarely funny. Not watching it will improve your life," while another comment read, "As I've gotten older, I just can't stay awake anymore to watch snl like I used to. I can't say, though that my life has improved." 

"It's not worth losing any sleep over," commented one more. 

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.

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