James Talarico Crashes ‘SNL’ Cold Open, Apologizes for Texting Us So Much

James Talarico on 'Saturday Night Live.' Logo text

James Austin Johnson was born for this moment — Donald Trump spinning as he is roundly defeated by Democrats — and he rose to meet in Saturday Night Live’s cold open.

But it was a Democratic politician who stole the show from Trump’s 2026 defeatism tour, as Texas senator-elect James Talarico made a surprise appearance as himself at the end of the sketch.

“I’m James Talarico, the guy who’s been texting you ever day as asking for five dollars,” the popular Texas politician said as he came out on stage to gasps and cheers in the audience, with Trump to mumbly meta-jibing behind him, “In this economy, who can blame you?”

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Talarico a moment later invoked the iconic “Live from New York” with Johnson’s Trump. Talarico drubbed his Republican opponent Ken Paxton by 12 points in the most expensive race in the history of the United States Senate, in part on the back of the grassroots fundraising campaign he was self-mocking on SNL. The result turned a Texas Senate seat blue for the first time in over 30 years.

Before the rising star’s appearance in Studio 8H, Johnson had been reveling in his presidential character’s anti-moment.

“I didn’t even say it was rigged,” Trump said of the election tallies. “I accepted the results, which is even scarier in a way. It’s like, ‘What the hell is he planning?'” He then said he only cared about his newly redesigned White House ballroom, before allowing under his breath, “Oh my God, I hate my life.”

Trump breaks down the midterm election results pic.twitter.com/1yy2ug6Aak
— Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) November 8, 2026

Talarico’s cold-open appearance echoed moments like Kamala Harris’ 2024 turn-up, in which she played opposite her celebrity impersonator Maya Rudolph ahead of the election, while Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin also made unexpected appearances as White House candidates more than a decade ago. A senator (or senator-elect) is rarer, and the moment both reflected and reinforced the newfound media celebrity of the new class of Congressional Democrats, many of them in their 30s or early 40s.

Johnson’s Trump, at least, is not a fan.

“The next few years are going to be horrible,” he said, pausing a comic beat. “It’s not that they’re Democrats; it’s that they’re Millennials.” He then lamented generational staples like “adorkable” and the show New Girl.

The president and the Republican party were handed several heaping platters of whoopings in the midterms, as Democrats gained at least 42 seats in the House and seven in the Senate. Voters rejected both Trump’s policies and personalities as they hoped for a whole range of change, especially on the economy.

Johnson — who told The Hollywood Reporter last year that “I don’t want to call what I’m doing Shakespeare. But I am trying to find the deeper forms of Trump, who is a rich text” — went full Hamlet with a digression about when New Girl started finding good storylines (it involved Winston and the cat).

Johnson has been been appearing (or crashing) the cold open as the president seemingly every week since Trump’s return to office, and writers gave Talarico one of the best lines of the sketch in letting him…question that choice.

“People want something new; they want something different,” Talarico said, appearing to talk about electoral politics, before the pivot. “I’m talking about SNL’s cold opens,” he said turning to Trump to ask him how long he will continue doing this shtick. “Infinity,” Johnson’s Trump said. They don’t want to talk about it, but we have to talk about it.

Johnson’s Trump also engaged in what might be a bon voyage to Colin Jost’s Pete Hegseth; with the defense secretary rumored as leaving the administration, it could end Jost’s well-regarded impression run.

“Do I look like a person who gets less crazy when backed into a corner,” Jost said in the appearance, adding, “I live a YOLO life: you only lose often.” He then sashayed off, backside first, playing to the new Trumpian rumpian obsession.

The sketch began with Sarah Sherman’s Chuck Schumer and Kenan Thompson’s Hakeem Jeffries taking credit for victories that were only partly their doing. “As our first order of business we are going to march right up to Donald Trump, look him right in the eye and say, ‘Knock it off buster,'” Thompson’s Jeffries said, mocking a perceived ineffectuality of current Congressional Democratic leadership.

As they asked how they did pulled off the wins, Johnson’s Trump appeared taking upside-down credit: “Me,” he boasted.

Talarico’s appearance on SNL provides a bookend — and a bit of sweet revenge — for the Texas politician after broader threats by FCC chair Brendan Carr led ABC and Jimmy Kimmel to move an appearance of Talarico’s on Jimmy Kimmel Live! off broadcast television to YouTube in September, a decision both Kimmel and the candidate condemned. The ostensible reason Carr would take issue was because Talarico was a candidate, triggering an equal-time provision, even though both Republican and Democratic candidates have long appeared on late-night shows. With Talarico officially a senator-elect, all of that is moot.

Druski hosted the Nov. 7 episode.