‘Saturday Night Live’ Opens With An Overcompensating Pete Hegseth Pumping Up His Plans To Stream A Live Execution

Saturday Night Live once again returned Pete Hegseth (Colin Jost) to its opener, this time with Donald Trump’s secretary of defense addressing the crew of the beleaguered U.S.S. Lincoln.

The ship was at sea for 322 days, with reports of poor conditions and demoralized soldiers, but their plight was dismissed by Trump.

At one point in the skit, Jost’s Hegseth tells the crew of his plans to stream a live execution. In reality, the Pentagon confirmed plans to stream the December execution of Nidal Hassan, sentenced to death for killing 13 people and injuring dozens more in a rampage at Fort Hood.

“As we get into the Christmas spirit, we’re going to execute a guy on live TV. Yeah, that’s right. Public executions are back.”

“And if the guy somehow survives the firing squad, then he’s got to fight Jake Paul. So check that out.”