U.S. President Donald Trump‘s raucous rally in Phoenix, Ariz. was ridiculed on this week’s episode of Saturday Night Live‘s Weekend Update special, with Alec Baldwin adopting his now legendary presidential persona to hammer Trump’s handling of the Charlottesville crisis.
Baldwin took to the podium wearing black sunglasses, telling the audience: “A lot of people don’t know this, but you can damage your eyes while looking at an eclipse. No one could have predicted this. They couldn’t have. I figured it out all by myself.”
READ MORE: Donald Trump looks directly at solar eclipse without protective glasses
He then mocked Trump’s defensive posturing in the wake of media criticism of his comments on violence at the “Unite the Right” white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va.
“As we all know, there was a tragic victim that came out of Charlottesville,” he said. “Me.
“Folks, the media has treated me so unfairly by reporting my entire remarks, even the bad ones. So I wanted to set the record straight about exactly what I said.”
Baldwin then pulled out a sheet of paper and hastily read out loud, “I moved on her like a bitch but I couldn’t get there” — comments Trump uttered in the now-notorious Access Hollywood recording — before realizing he was reading from the wrong sheet, and switching to the right one.
“‘You had a group on one side that is very bad, neo-Nazis, and you had a group on the other side’ — and then I didn’t say a single word after that. I just stopped. Nothing else was said.”
WATCH: Trump tries to rewrite history when recounting his comments on Charlottesville during Arizona rally
Baldwin’s Trump then reiterated his support for Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona, recently found guilty of systematically targeting and detaining Latinos, and bragged that he “solved Afghanistan.”
The segment ends with Baldwin inviting ousted strategist Steve Bannon, portrayed by the Grim Reaper, on stage for a “proper goodbye.”
“You’ve only made me more powerful,” the Grim Reaper snarls, letting out a dastardly laugh.
READ MORE: Steve Bannon, ousted from White House, says Trump presidency he helped build is ‘over’
“Steve is going on to Breitbart, with whom he’ll be fighting the good fight against globalist cucks, like my son-in-law Jared,” Baldwin says. “Steve, we love you.”
The Grim Reaper replies, “I’m going to crush you,” before leaving the stage to applause.
Throughout Baldwin’s speech, SNL comedian Kenan Thompson took his position in the pro-Trump audience behind the podium, mocking the black Trump supporter who went viral after holding up a “Blacks For Trump” sign during the president’s Phoenix rally.
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