there was a too-eager invocation of <u+201c>trumped-up trickle-down economics<u+201d>; a repeated, awkward pronunciation of china; some audible sniffling and a vehement complaint of a broken microphone; a plea to call sean hannity; and a gleeful shoulder shimmy. yes, to kick off its 42nd season, <u+201c>saturday night live,<u+201d> the nbc sketch comedy institution, opened with a parody of the first presidential debate, pitting kate mckinnon as hillary clinton against alec baldwin as donald j. trump, and michael che as the baffled, deadpan moderator, lester holt. this eagerly awaited sketch, which opened the show on saturday (and which nbc had been promoting during the week as if it were a championship prize fight) mixed some of the real-life zingers and gaffes from monday<u+2019>s debate with the show<u+2019>s own satirical takes on the political showdown. ms. mckinnon played mrs. clinton as a politician still struggling to make personal connections, warning that mr. trump<u+2019>s policies would harm <u+201c>laborers like my own human father, who made, i guess, drapes, or printed drapes or sold drapes, something with drapes <u+2014> he was relatable and i am also relatable.<u+201d> meanwhile, mr. baldwin gave a preening, pursed-lip impersonation of mr. trump, who in one volatile tirade said of mrs. clinton: <u+201c>she<u+2019>s the one with the bad temperament. she<u+2019>s always screaming. she<u+2019>s constantly lying. her hair is crazy. her face is completely orange, except around the eyes where it<u+2019>s white.<u+201d> the lampooning of the presidential debate has become a quadrennial tradition at <u+201c>s.n.l.<u+201d> it<u+2019>s an institution that has yielded such enduring moments as when, in 1988, jon lovitz (in the guise of michael dukakis) contemplated dana carvey (as the elder george bush) and groused, <u+201c>i can<u+2019>t believe i<u+2019>m losing to this guy<u+201d>; in 1992, when mr. carvey simultaneously played mr. bush and his challenger ross perot (the latter performance had been recorded ahead of time); and in 2000, when will ferrell (as george w. bush) summarized the best argument for his candidacy in a single word, <u+201c>strategery.<u+201d> this year, anticipation for the debate parody seemed to run especially high, following the face-off on monday between mr. trump and mrs. clinton at hofstra university, which drew an estimated 84 million viewers, according to nielsen . <u+201c>s.n.l.<u+201d> is riding the momentum of ms. mckinnon<u+2019>s recent emmy award victory for her work on the show, and, for an added boost of adrenaline, brought in mr. baldwin, a frequent guest host, to play mr. trump this season. (recently, the role had been played by darrell hammond, a veteran <u+201c>s.n.l.<u+201d> cast member who is now its announcer, and taran killam, who left the show before the start of this season.) <u+201c>saturday night live<u+201d> is also facing the question of whether it can have any satirical bite on mr. trump, who was a controversial choice to host the program in november 2015 . nbc, the longtime home of mr. trump<u+2019>s reality shows <u+201c>the apprentice<u+201d> and <u+201c>celebrity apprentice,<u+201d> said it was ending its business ties with him in june 2015, citing the <u+201c>derogatory statements<u+201d> in his announcement as a presidential candidate, in which he described mexican immigrants as <u+201c>rapists<u+201d> and <u+201c>murderers.<u+201d> nonetheless, mr. trump has continued to appear on nbc entertainment programs including <u+201c>s.n.l.<u+201d> and <u+201c>the tonight show starring jimmy fallon,<u+201d> whose host was roundly criticized for conducting a chummy interview with mr. trump in september. in saturday<u+2019>s season premiere, <u+201c>s.n.l.<u+201d> seemed to play it down the middle, balancing each joke about mr. trump with a zinger about mrs. clinton. as the co-anchor colin jost remarked at the start of the <u+201c>weekend update<u+201d> segment, <u+201c>the first presidential debate is over, and it<u+2019>s official: we have to choose between hillary clinton and donald trump.<u+201d> mr. che, on <u+201c>weekend update,<u+201d> joked that watching the debate was like <u+201c>watching a divorced couple fight for custody of a kid that hates them both.<u+201d> he also compared the debate to the divorce of angelina jolie and brad pitt, <u+201c>but if brad pitt only wanted to keep the white kids.<u+201d> other election-themed sketches included a political edition of the game show <u+201c>family feud,<u+201d> in which members of the trump family (and vladimir v. putin) competed against mrs. clinton<u+2019>s allies, including bernie sanders (played by the frequent <u+201c>s.n.l.<u+201d> guest star larry david).
<u+2018>s.n.l.<u+2019> begins a new season with alec baldwin as donald trump
dave itzkoff