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Alec Baldwin returns to “Saturday Night Live” for first time since “Rust” case dismissal
Alec Baldwin returned to “Saturday Night Live” — but not to reprise his role as former President Donald Trump for which he won an Emmy. He returned Saturday night to play Fox News’ Bret Baier for the cold open skit spoofing this week’s interview with Vice President Kamala Harris.
Baldwin received loud cheers from the audience before revealing he was playing Baier, who he joked, “Yes, I do look like someone made a businessman in Minecraft.”
Rudolph’s Harris nervously laughed after shaking hands with Baldwin’s Baier, saying, “The pleasure is neither of ours.”
The cold open skit marked Baldwin’s return to the long-running comedy sketch show after the “Rust” involuntary manslaughter case was dismissed in July 2024. Since the accidental shooting in October 2021, the 17-time “SNL” host has largely stepped back from the show. However, he made a surprise appearance last season after relinquishing Trump duties to cast member James Austin Johnson.
Saturday night’s skit poked fun at Baier’s real-life interruptions of Harris, with Baldwin repeatedly interrupting Rudolph in rapid-fire fashion.
Rudolph, after several interruptions to the first question: “May I please finish?”
Baldwin: “I’m asking you to.”
Rudolph: “Well, then you have to listen.”
Baldwin: “Well I can’t because I’m talking.”
Rudolph: “Well, When will you stop?”
“Maybe when I go to bed,” Baldwin responded, with the audience laughing loudly.
The skit also mocked a moment Baier acknowledged was a mistake by playing the wrong clip of a Trump response.
The clips allowed “SNL” to bring in mini-skits including one with Dana Carvey as President Joe Biden, who has played the role since the beginning of the comedy sketch show’s 50th season.
The skit closed — many interruptions later — with Harris asking: “Before I go, can I just say the thing I’ve been trying to say this whole time? Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!”, with Baldwin joining her.
According to Saturday Night Network, it was Baldwin’s 45th time saying that phrase.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” star Michael Keaton hosted Saturday’s show, with Billie Eilish as the musical host.
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Federal student loan payments for about 8 million Americans will stay on hold for at least another six months, the U.S. Department of Education confirmed on Monday.
As first reported by CNBC, the decision impacts those enrolled in the White House’s “Saving on a Valuable Education,” or SAVE, plan, which is temporarily blocked by a federal appeals court. Those who signed up for the plan are excused from their monthly payments and will be put in an interest-free general forbearance, a spokesperson for the agency told CBS MoneyWatch.
The 8 million borrowers in SAVE, and anyone who has applied for the debt relief program, should expect to remain in interest-free forbearance for at least six more months pending the outcome of legal challenges to the SAVE plan according to the agency.
President Joe Biden made helping people saddled with student debt a key plank of 2020 campaign. But his efforts have been stymied by opposition, chiefly from lawmakers in Republican-led states. In 2023, Supreme Court ruled 6-3 against Biden’s plan to erase the student debt of more than 40 million people.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit in June temporarily blocked SAVE, barring the Biden administration from implementing elements of the plan that were not already being challenged by two lower court rulings.
Ahead of the legal sparring, the Education Department had forgiven total $5.5 billion in student debt for 414,000 under the SAVE plan.
The outcome of the November presidential election could determine whether such programs survive, experts say. The next administration would have the option of defending or ending the government’s loan relief efforts, with Vice President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris vowing to reduce student debt.
Critics of the moves to forgive student debt include Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump. While in the White House, Trump’s 2020 budget proposal called for eliminating the loan forgiveness program for public employees.
Mr. Biden late last week said an additional $4.5 billion in student debt was being canceled for about 60,000 teachers, nurses, firefighters and others, bringing to more than 1 million the number of public service workers to get debt relief during his administration.
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