We’re entering the season 50 premiere Saturday evening live, there was a lot of speculation among fans about who would play the two biggest new names in the 2024 presidential election, Tim Walz and JD Vance. The cold open kicked off with a rally for Kamala Harris (played by a returning Maya Rudolph), who introduced her supporters to Walz, played by none other than Jim Gaffigan.

“Folks, I haven’t been this excited since I got 10 percent off a leaf blower from Menards,” Gaffigan’s Walz said. “What can I say? I have that NDE, Big Dad Energy.

Walz continued, “When Kamala Harris called me and asked if I wanted to be her vice president, I said, ‘Uh, yeah!’ This is personal to me: I love this country, and as a former teacher I need the money.”

Gaffigan was a common fan casting choice for Walz, but SNLThe choice for JD Vance was someone no one saw coming: Bowen Yang.

Yang’s Vance was awkward and gruff and began his speech by saying, “Donald Trump, this afternoon you said to me, ‘JD, you’re like a son to me because I don’t like you and I’m stuck with You.'”

Vance told the crowd, “I’m sure you’ve all heard what the liberal media has been saying about me: I’m a creep, I’m a weirdo, what the hell am I doing here? I’ll tell you what I’m doing here: hype this crowd!” As he said this, a bored Trump supporter walked out of the room behind him.

The casting surprises during this cold opening were not limited to politicians. Former cast member Andy Samberg dropped in to play Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff. Samberg wore an absurdly obvious wig and played the second gentleman with a similarly crazy cadence to much of his past SNL characters.

“I’ve heard what the right says about me just because I don’t regret being a man who supports his wife,” said Emhoff of Samberg. “Oh, he’s a beta, a wife, a trad-huz, a little spoon.” But you know what? If helping Kamala – who we call Mamala in my family, I’m not sure if I said that – become president is a small spoonful, then you can cover my little ass!

The final surprise of the cold open was the new portrayal of Joe Biden. Instead of having cast member Mikey Day reprise the role, the current president was played by former cast member Dana Carvey.

Famous for his countless presidential impressions over the decades, Carvey played Biden as a confused, incoherent, repetitive man, someone who needed help getting off the stage and accidentally ended up back on it.

“I just want to thank you, J-Biden,” Harris told him. “Thank you for putting the country first and handing over the reins.”

A grumpy Biden replied: “I didn’t want to!”