Saturday Night Live’s cold open got the episode started with a greeting from Colin Jost’s Pete Hegseth welcoming the USS Abraham Lincoln back to land after being deployed for 321 days.

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“After seven months of war, you’re back home safe in sunny San Diego, which the president just asked Iran to blow up. I couldn’t be more proud of you,” he said. “Only eight of you attempted suicide, two of you since I started talking. You executed over 3,000 combat missions and you did it with zero casualties, zero flight mishaps, and zero working toilets.”

This week, President Trump defended the Iran war at a campaign rally in Nebraska, calling it a “small price to pay for keeping the world safe” and “keeping our country safe.” He then said Iran could “take out” a city in the United States if a nuclear weapon was developed. “Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego,” Trump said.

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Saturday night’s episode marked hane Gillis’ third time hosting SNL; he made his debut in February 2024, and returned again in March 2025. He notoriously was cast as a featured player and quickly fired when a video resurfaced of him using a racial slur.

Rosalia was the night’s musical guest, marking her second time on the show.

So far on season 52, Jalen Brunson and Dakota Johnson have hosted the late night series. After Gillis, Inde Navarrette will next made her hosting debut for the special Halloween episode, alongside Gracie Abrams as musical guest.

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More to come.