Tom Hanks returned to Saturday Night Live as David S. Pumpkins during the show’s Halloween cold open on Oct. 31. Mikey Day and Bobby Moynihan also reprised their roles as his dancing skeleton sidekicks, but the reunion quickly shifted into a political sketch.
The segment began with a couple entering a haunted attraction guided by Kenan Thompson. When Hanks appeared, the visitors questioned why David S. Pumpkins was part of the ride. Before he could answer, James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump interrupted with a single word: “Midterms.”
Trump then joked that viewers could skip another David Pumpkins appearance because the character simply keeps emerging and confusing people. He also compared himself with Pumpkins, noting that both appeared in 2016 and are loud, orange and annoying.
The sketch turned to jokes about Hanks’ backside, extending a recurring fixation in Trump’s recent campaign speeches on Ohio Republican Sen. Jon Husted’s physique. The same gag also referenced Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, making men’s backsides a central punchline.
Johnson’s Trump additionally compared the color of a bruised hand with Texas potentially turning purple and said he would abandon the state if it turned blue. Thompson later left the stage after responding sharply to Trump’s claim that he had made a donation.
The cold open also featured Saidah Belo-Osagie as Nicki Minaj, introduced by Trump as a potential press secretary, and Veronika Slowikowska as Katie Zacharia. After Zacharia stumbled over the opening line, Hanks and the skeleton characters delivered, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!”
The episode was hosted by Inde Navarrette, star of Obsession, with Gracie Abrams as the musical guest.
Sources: Mashable.