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Saturday Night Live‘s cold open was indeed what many had asked for: a biting parody of Alabama Sen. Katie Britt‘s cringey rebuttal to President Joe Biden‘s State of the Union address Thursday.
SNL‘s Britt, played by Scarlett Johansson, told viewers from the start that for the next few minutes, she would be “auditioningfor the part of scary mom” and “performing anoriginal monologue called ‘ThisCountry Is Hell.’”
“My husband, Wesley,and I just watched PresidentBiden’s speech, and what I sawwas the performance of apermanent politician. But me? I’m not performing.I’m not!I’m not!!” she exclaimed, throwing her hand up to her forehead theatrically.
“First and foremost, I’m amom.And like any mom, I’m going todo a pivot out of nowhere into ashockingly violent story aboutsex trafficking.And rest assured, every detailabout it is real, except theyear, where it took place, andwho was president when ithappened,” Johansson’s character continued, referring to how Britt cited events that took place in Mexico in the mid-2000s to criticize Biden’s immigration policies.
“And tonight, I am not justresponding to the State of theUnion. I am also selling these gorgeousbejeweled cross necklaces forQVC,” she went on, now portraying a host on the shopping network channel.
After a few more abrupt tone changes, including getting “weirdly seductive for no apparentreason,” she alluded to the acclaimed 2017 horror film Get Out.
“My tea isready,” she said ominously, clanking her spoon around in a teacup before the camera cut to Kenan Thompson with tears streaming down his face.
“But to the American people whoare struggling right now, knowthis: We hear you.We see you.We smell you,” she concluded. “We’re inside your kitchen rightnow looking through your fridge.And what’s that on the topshelf?Migrants!”
Lastly, Johansson’s character hinted at the lack of future political success that seems to have befallen those who have delivered State of the Union rebuttals.
“To the presidentof the United States, I’ll justsay this: Mr. Biden, this isn’tthe last you’ll see of KatieBritt,” she said. “Maybe not in politics. But whenyou close your eyes, I’ll beright there.”
Britt’s melodramatic response has not only been mocked online and on television, but GOP operatives, conservative Capitol Hill staffers and lawyers, and senior members of Donald Trump‘s 2024 campaign admitted to Rolling Stone how much of a letdown it was.
“I’ll give Biden this,” one GOP consultant put it. “He at least gave a better speech than Katie Britt.”
