Another shoutout of the late-night comedy variety has come for Portland.
The city — which has garnered waves of national attention amid the Trump administration’s weeklong attempts to send National Guard troops to Portland — played a minor role this weekend in the first cold open of “Saturday Night Live” Season 51.
The skit parodied President Donald Trump’s Sept. 30 address of senior military leaders, a meeting that came just days after he called for troops to quell protests outside Portland’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement base.
“Weekend Update” co-host Colin Jost made a rare sketch appearance as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during the cold open.
Jost (like in Hegseth’s actual speech) berated an out-of-shape military made up of too many “fat generals,” and (again, like Hegseth) was met with awkward silence depicted via an edited cutaway crowd shot.
“You don’t want to follow the rules?” Jost barked in character. “Hey, no problem. You know who’s going to want your sick, twisted fat (expletive)? ICE.”
“Got a sign-up sheet for ICE in the hallway, check them out,” he continued. “Because in here, from now on, we’re doing Army and Army only — and we will be doing it in one of the bloodiest, war-torn places on the face of the Earth: Portland, Oregon.”
It’s not the first late-night jab at Trump’s characterization of Portland as “war ravaged.”
Talk show hosts Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers and Jon Stewart joined in on the bit last week, poking fun at the city’s penchant for “over-priced donut shops,” competitive coffee scene and excess kombucha stores.
Portlanders, too, have done their part to shift the narrative — sharing scenes online of sunny skies, bustling farmers markets and a decidedly non-war-torn Pacific Northwestern city.
Portland’s “Saturday Night Live” name-check didn’t last long, though, with Jost (as Hegseth) quickly rerouting attention to more important military matters.
“Now, back to the fat thing,” he bellowed.
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