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Kate McKinnon’s ‘SNL’ Take On Jeff Sessions’ ‘Racist’ Past Sends A Message

By Sounak Mukhopadhyay
Published on: 19:45 PST, Feb 11, 2017

Kate McKinnon’s SNL performance was hilarious. She stole the show by impersonating Jeff Sessions. The now-confirmed Attorney General’s portrayal is the latest feather in her crown. At the same time, the hilarious performance also focused on Jeff Sessions’ “racist” past.

Let’s admit it. McKinnon is hilarious. And, it seems now that she can be anyone she wants to. Nobody in the White House is apparently safe at the moment. It always makes viewers curious who she is going to be in the next episode. This time, she became Jeff Sessions, Donald Trump’s controversial choice for the top post in the Justice Department.

[Image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]

Kate McKinnon’s SNL portrayal of Jeff Sessions was funny and serious in its own way. While McKinnon was funny because of the way she pulled it off, the writers made sure that the serious allegations against the Attorney General were addressed as well. Jeff Sessions’ “racist” past has haunted him ever since the U.S. president nominated him to be the next Attorney General. Now, it becomes an issue on Saturday Night Live as well.

McKinnon used the portrayal to talk about different kinds of crimes. “We all know there are two kinds of crimes,” McKinnon said as Sessions. “Regular and black.” The statement itself addressed Jeff Sessions’ “racist” history in a funny manner. In 1986, Martin Luther King Jr.’s widow Coretta Scott King wrote a letter, expressing her “sincere opposition’ to Jeff Sessions’ appointment as the District Judge. She alleged that Sessions had used his power to “chill the free exercise of the vote by black citizens in the district.”

Kate McKinnon’s SNL version of Jeff Sessions was exactly what people like Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren had been concerned about. Warren has been extremely vocal about Trump’s decision to nominate Sessions for the top post. She was disallowed to read King’s letter in the Senate during the debate under Rule 19. But, she refused to be quiet about it. While the Attorney General’s nomination was confirmed, Warren continued to talk about Jeff Sessions’ “racist” history. She warned that Democrats would not spare Sessions, if he tried to make the Justice Department racist.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions [Image by Susan Walsh-Pool/Getty Images]

On SNL, Kate McKinnon did not miss the chance to refer to Warren either. She referred to Mitch McConnell’s efforts to silence the Democrat. But, the way McKinnon described the incident was hysterical. “Elizabeth Warren came at me like a porcupine,” she said. “But, then my friend Mitch McConnell swooped in like an alligator, bite her head off.”

Kate McKinnon’s SNL version of Jeff Sessions had an interesting twist as well. Just like Senator Warren was cut short in the Senate, Sessions was cut short during his speech. Melissa McCarthy’s Sean Spicer interrupted Sessions and took him off the stage, probably sensing how controversial his statement was going to be if he was allowed to speak further.

Politico earlier reported that Donald Trump did not like that SNL had a woman portray Spicer’s character. Now that a woman was chosen to play Jeff Sessions’ character, it will be interesting to see how the White House reacts. “Trump doesn’t like his people to look weak,” a top Trump donor said. This also hints that Trump considers women as “weaker.”

Now, Kate McKinnon’s SNL take on Jeff Sessions’ “racist” past seems far from “weak.”

[Featured Image by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images]

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