'SNL' Taps Will Ferrel in Spoof of Trump Response to Sondland's ‘Quid Pro Quo' Testimony

Will Ferrell returned to host for the fifth time and King Princess debuted on the "Saturday Night Live" stage as this week's musical guest

This week’s “Saturday Night Live” episode returned its focus to the impeachment inquiry and again explored the relationships between President Donald Trump and his alleged accomplices.

In the "SNL" opener, Alec Baldwin reprises his role as President Donald Trump, who’s met by reporters on the White House lawn as a helicopter roars behind him.

Baldwin’s Trump refuses to answer questions from the awaiting reporters and only says that Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland’s impeachment hearing testimony “completely exonerated” him from accusations that his dealings with Ukraine were a quid pro quo, or an exchange of one thing for another.

Sondland (Will Ferrell) appears next to Trump as the president dodges the press' questions. Trump also professes not to know Sondland, although reporters (Kyle Mooney, Cecily Strong, Mikey Day and Heidi Gardner) point out that Trump appointed Sondland after the wealthy hotelier donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration — a factually accurate observation. The real Trump also claimed on Wednesday that he didn’t “know him very well.”

Reading a statement written in large handwriting using a black marker, Baldwin’s Trump says that when Sondland asked what he wanted during a phone call, his response was, "Nothing. No quid pro quo, bro."

Ferrell’s Sondland goes along with Trump’s distancing act and adds, "Keep the quid pro quo on the low-low."

The real Sondland testified Wednesday that the deal, in this case, was a White House visit for new Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in exchange for Ukraine announcing an investigation into Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company whose board members included the son of former Vice President Joe Biden.

Not only did Sondland say that there was a quid pro quo, but he also said that “everyone” — from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the White House's acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney to even Vice President Mike Pence — "was in the loop. It was no secret."

“Elf” and “Daddy’s Home” actor Will Ferrell returned to host the show for the fifth time. He was also quick to remind the audience he was a cast member on the show for seven years.

“I cherished every moment I was here. Really some of the best times…,” Ferrell starts his monologue but trails off once he notices that “Deadpool” star Ryan Reynolds is in the audience.

Ferrell is so distracted that he forgets his rehearsed monologue, fakes a British accent and impersonates comedian Tracy Morgan, another “SNL” alum.

“Can you just pretend I’m not here?” Reynolds asks incredulously.

Morgan joins Ferrell on stage for the end of the monologue, and tells Reynolds that Ferrell “can do what he wants to do.” Morgan also warns Ferrell not to impersonate him.

“I suckled from his comedy bosom, and like a young Luke Skywalker, it filled me with strength,” Morgan said of his relationship with Ferrell.

The “Weekend Update” segment shifted back to impeachment inquiry news.

“Testimony in the impeachment hearing concluded in the House this week and now the debate will shift to your house for Thanksgiving,” Colin Jost opens.

Jost then details reports that Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., who led the impeachment hearings along with Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., allegedly helped Trump “do the crime” by meeting with a Ukrainian prosecutor to get intel on the Bidens.

“Nunes is so deep in this he’s basically living in a pineapple under the sea,” Jost said.

“Weekend Update” co-host Michael Che tackled news that the screenwriter for “Harriet,” a new Harriet Tubman biopic, said a studio executive in the ‘90s suggested that “Pretty Woman” star Julia Roberts play Tubman.

To round off the segment, Jost and Che invited a guy who just bought a boat (Alex Moffat) to give Thanksgiving dating tips. The guest’s friend, a guy who knows the owner (Ryan Reynolds), also offered his two cents.

Mikaela Straus, known by her stage name King Princess, debuted on the “SNL” stage as this week’s musical guest. The New York native picked up a guitar to perform “1950,” for her first performance of the night.

For her second set, the singer-songwriter twirled and jumped around the stage as she sang “Hit the Back.” Both songs are from her Oct. 25 debut studio album “Cheap Queen.”

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