SNL’s MAGA Bar Sketch Has the Internet Divided

Three political figures walked into a bar — and Saturday Night Live was waiting for them. The NBC sketch comedy institution opened its May 9 episode with one of its most talked-about cold opens of Season 51: a Georgetown bar crawl featuring Matt Damon back as Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Colin Jost doing his Pete Hegseth impression, and Aziz Ansari crashing the party as FBI Director Kash Patel, personalized bourbon bottles in hand.

The sketch was set inside Martin’s Tavern, the iconic Georgetown restaurant, where Jost’s Hegseth kicked things off by celebrating that he’d finally found a bar where he wouldn’t run into anyone from the White House. “None of Trump’s people like drinking as much as I do,” he quipped. Then Damon’s Kavanaugh strolled in and immediately ordered “six Bud Lights and three shots of Jameson” — prompting the bartender to deadpan that it was a “6-3 decision.”

The Kavanaugh jokes got sharper from there. When asked why he expected to find Hegseth at that particular bar, Damon’s character replied, “I just saw all the women covering their drinks” — a direct callback to the sexual misconduct and excessive drinking allegations that dogged Kavanaugh’s 2018 Senate confirmation hearings. Kavanaugh has consistently denied both drinking excessively and engaging in any misconduct.

Kash Patel Steals the Scene

Things escalated the moment Ansari burst through the door screaming, “Does this bar take Kash?!” — and the crowd lost it. Ansari, who bears a close physical resemblance to the real Patel, came loaded with material. He joked about getting mistaken for a kid with a fake ID because of his wide-eyed official photos, bragged about still living the American dream years after college, and held up a bottle of bourbon with his own name on the label.

“Yes, somehow this is a real thing, that I the FBI director had made. This is real,” Ansari’s Patel announced — a direct riff on an Atlantic report detailing how Patel distributes personalized bourbon bottles bearing his name and references to the FBI. In real life, Patel is currently suing The Atlantic over reporting connected to those allegations, which he has strongly denied.

The sketch kept piling on. Damon’s Kavanaugh grilled Ansari’s Patel over rumors that he’s been making FBI staffers take polygraph tests — but Patel pivoted immediately into chaos, joking that he actually wanted a chart of everyone at the FBI who’s “poly” because his girlfriend supposedly wants an open relationship. Hegseth and Kavanaugh responded with enthusiastic frat-style high-fives.

Trump’s Third Term and a Chumbawamba Finale

The cold open saved its most absurdist swing for last. Damon’s Kavanaugh leaned in and dropped what he called a “top secret” bombshell: “We’re gonna let Trump do a third term.” When Jost’s Hegseth pointed out that three presidential terms are flatly unconstitutional, Kavanaugh fired back with the explanation that Trump had apparently found the original Constitution and scribbled “Sike! We’re gonna live forever” at the bottom.

Kenan Thompson, playing the bartender, eventually called last call — and the three characters stumbled into a slurring sing-along of Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping.” It was a fittingly chaotic button on a sketch that had gone fully off the rails in the best possible way.

The episode was Matt Damon’s third time hosting SNL, and it came ahead of his leading role in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, due in theaters this July. Musical guest Noah Kahan also performed — his second appearance on the show, following the April release of his album The Great Divide.

The Internet Had Thoughts

Reaction online divided almost immediately along predictable lines. Critics of the sketch flooded social media calling the show stale and one-note. “It’s really frustrating to watch a handful of angry activists placate their audience,” one user wrote. Another went further: “Nobody watches SNL, it’s not funny.”

Supporters pushed back just as hard. “SNL has been poking fun at presidents and politicians for quite some time now,” one fan pointed out. Others specifically praised Damon’s energy in the sketch, with one viewer calling it “high-fashion red carpet energy” for political comedy.

It’s a cycle the show knows well. Back in November, SNL drew similar backlash when James Austin Johnson’s Trump impression anchored a cold open built around the unsealed Epstein files — complete with jokes about Trump being “the dog that hasn’t barked” and a closing gag about pardoning “a turkey that was a sex criminal.” That sketch drew the same split reaction: fury from one side, applause from the other.

Whether you loved it or hated it, Season 51 is nearly done. The finale airs May 16 with Will Ferrell returning to host for the sixth time — his first time back since 2019 — alongside musical guest Paul McCartney, whose new album The Boys of Dungeon Lane drops May 29. If the season has been this chaotic, it’s hard to imagine Ferrell and McCartney toning things down for the exit.