For a show that prides itself on being, well, live, Saturday Night Live doesn't usually thrive on engaging its in-studio audience. The machine of the long-running program doesn't lend itself to spontaneity; any participation from the crowd is typically scripted. Wallen wasn't actually present; the country musician created headlines last week when he bucked the tradition of sharing pleasantries during the goodbyes at the end of the night and abruptly walked off-stage straight to camera. The move was perceived as rude to the cast. Shortly thereafter, he posted a photo of his private jet to Instagram with the caption, 'Get me to God's country,' a seeming culture-war taunt that quickly became a meme. In last night's cold open, the SNL cast member James Austin Johnson, the show's resident Donald Trump impressionist, responded to the dig. In character as the president, Johnson launched into a wandering monologue about Trump's wide-reaching tariffs, which included targets such as the...
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