It’s been over three weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine, and while things could be worse, they’re not great. While the Ukrainian people have put up a fight, America has struggled to find a way to lend a hand without inciting World War III, with little help from the Republican party. SNL tried to find the funny in this tragic situation, with its latest episode showing President Joe Biden meeting with a most important group: TikTokers.
James Austin Johnson reprised his acclaimed take on the the self-described “landline of presidents” as White House press secretary Jen Psaki (a witheringly sarcastic Kate McKinnon) introduced him to a gaggle of online influencers. One of them, played by Chloe Fineman, suggested poems as a way to combat Russian forces, only to wind up doing a variation on AnnaLynne McCord’s instantly infamous plea to President Vladimir Putin. Another, played by Aidy Bryant, spouted alt-right conspiracy theories. Yet another, played by Kenan Thompson, was the wrong guy — not a TikToker but a roofer from Pittsburgh.
Eventually the day was saved, sort of, by Bowen Yang, who showed up shirtless with a plunger atop his left nipple. “The idea of asking TikTok stars how to fight Russia might sound like a joke, but remember, they said the same thing about the radio in World War II,” Yang told the group. “Never underestimate the importance of new technology and how it reaches young people in ways you can never understand. TikTok isn’t some childish gimmick — it has more power and more influence than the nightly news.”
As it happens, truth is as strange as fiction. The White House really is meeting with TikTokers about messaging, while the Kremlin is doing the same thing, only with misinformation.
You can watch the sketch in the video above.
