After Charles Barkley talked about immigration in a recent segment covering March Madness, this week’s “Saturday Night Live” cold open began with his opinions on other issues.
Played by Kenan Thompson, Barkley quickly jumps from college basketball to hot current events, such as America’s intervention in Iran (“The war is terrible. Innocent people are being killed. I don’t care who started it, but we have to finish it”) and the Artemis II moon mission.
“It’s a waste of money,” Thompson-as-Berkeley said of the space program. “They’re not going to the moon, they’re just flying around it.”
Barkley then spoke about President Trump’s firing of Attorney General Pam Bondi, played by Ashley Padilla. Bondi also participated in this segment.
“It’s really great to be here for the last four years of this country,” Padilla-As-Bondi said. “I’m sorry, Charles, but I can’t let go of the lies you told about me. The truth is, I’ve been great at work, and I’m proud to have made history as the first woman to be fired as attorney general. I shattered that glass exit door. I miss it already. And they threw my mug shot in the trash, along with the Epstein files. What am I going to do?”
Barkley spoke up on the March 29 broadcast after a segment featuring Alex Karaban, a student-athlete whose parents immigrated to the United States.
“Right now I want to be very careful with my words,” Barclay said. “Because this is a really sensitive topic for me. I love those kids and their families. But the way some of these other immigrants are being treated right now in our country is a travesty and it’s a disgrace. I think there’s a difference between great immigrants and criminal immigrants. And I think what’s happening in our country, what we’re doing to some of these great immigrants, is really unfortunate and really sad.”
Watch the cold open below.
