Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth addresses Venezuelan attack in 'SNL' cold open

Operation 'Kill Everybody' starts now.
 By 
Chase DiBenedetto
 on 
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Colin Jost's Pete Hegseth returned to Saturday Night Live this week to kick off the Melissa McCarthy-hosted episode, featuring Dane Cook jokes, 6-7, and the ongoing conflict with Venezuela.

The Defense Secretary sauntered into the White House press room like a WWE superstar, crushing cans and berating journalists with insults like a particularly annoying middle school bully as he answered questions about what he dubbed "Operation Kill Everybody."

"As you probably read in some gay newspaper, we're now at war with Venezuela," the government leader told the press pool.

Hegseth was joined by "reporter" Matt Gaetz (Sarah Squirm) and "high-energy Alpha" President Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson), with the latter nodding off in the corner while dreaming about NYC Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani.

Topics SNL

Chase sits in front of a green framed window, wearing a cheetah print shirt and looking to her right. On the window's glass pane reads "Ricas's Tostadas" in red lettering.
Chase DiBenedetto
Social Good Reporter

Chase joined Mashable's Social Good team in 2020, covering online stories about digital activism, climate justice, accessibility, and media representation. Her work also captures how these conversations manifest in politics, popular culture, and fandom. Sometimes she's very funny.


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