Lone Latine SNL cast member Marcello Hernández returned to the Weekend Update desk Saturday (November 12), this time as a character who wants to become the United States’ first Latino president.
The last time Hernández was featured on the SNL news program, he showed up as himself to talk about the talent and entertainment value of Latino players in Major League Baseball. This time, he played José Suarez, a Latino with big political aspirations.
José was introduced by Weekend Update co-anchor Colin Jost, who started the skit by telling the audience that “exit polls from this year’s midterms showed that Latinos were a larger share of the electorate than ever before.”
José started talking about why the record-breaking election for Latine voters inspired him to one day run for the presidency. When Jost asked him whether he considers himself a Republican or Democrat, José ducked the question by saying he was “just happy to be here.”
His laid-back demeanor was also evident in his future political plans when he told viewers what his campaign slogan was going to be when he ran for president. “José Suarez. Everything is basically fine. So, relax, OK? It’s fine.”
He then started mocking Americans who complain about everything like the high price of gas (“Ever heard of legs?”) and inflation (“The price of milk is too high. How about just don’t drink milk?”). When José casually revealed that he was born in Cuba, Jost let him know that he couldn’t legally run for president. “I don’t think anybody will care about that,” José replied.
He wrapped up his appearance by promising voters that if he becomes president, he is going to give every mother a chancleta (sandal) to make sure their kids don’t misbehave and went on to explain to Jost what a mother can do with one chancleta. Sounds like a winning platform to us.