SNL sends up AOC and ‘bisexual wine-drinking triathlete’ senator Kyrsten Sinema
SNL blasted attempts to pass Biden’s infrastructure bill amid heated friction between Democrats Kyrsten Sinema and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The variety show opened its 47th season with new cast member James Austin Johnson taking on the role of president Joe Biden. In the cold open, like in real life, Biden struggled with his infrastructure proposal because of disagreements within his political party.
The faux-Biden brought out several fellow Democrats from different ends of the party’s political spectrum to negotiate on key issues because he belied “we’re all on the same page”. He welcomed senators Kyrsten Sinema (Cecily Strong) and Joe Manchin (Aidy Bryant), and “progressive” representatives Ilhan Omar (Ego Nwodim) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Melissa Villaseñor) to the SNL stage.
But Strong, in a spot-on performance as Sinema, quipped she’d “never tell” what she wanted from the bill because she was purposefully trying to be obstinate. She added she “didn’t come to Congress to make friends”, and “so far, mission accomplished”. Ouch.
Biden quipped that the Arizona senator looked like “all the character from Scooby-Doo” at once.
Later in the sketch, Biden attempted to get all the lawmakers to agree on one thing which seemingly anyone would think was good – roads. However, Sinema declared she wanted “no roads”.
When asked why, Kyrsten Sinema simply replied: “Chaos.”
After disagreeing with every suggestion, Biden asked Sinema what she actually liked. She answered that she liked “yellow Starbursts, the film The Polar Express and when someone eats fish on an aeroplane”.
“Look, as a wine-drinking, bisexual triathlete, I know what the average American wants,” Sinema declared.
She continued: “They want to be put on hold when they call 911. They want bridges that just stop, and cars fall down.
“They want water so thick you can eat it with a fork, and I will fight for that no matter what unless my foot hurts – then I’ve got to go back to Arizona.”
Beloved New York representative AOC was also skewered in the sketch for her appearance at the 2021 Met Gala. She declared she was the “Cruella of the Met Gala” and referenced her stunning outfit for the night.
“I wore a dress that said ‘tax the rich’ then spent the whole night partying with the rich, oops,” AOC said while seemingly giggling bashfully.
In the end, with some help from former New York governor Andrew Cuomo (Pete Davidson) and senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (Alex Moffatt), the Democrats finally agreed on one thing. They said they are all fundamentally “screwed”.