‘SNL’ Cold Open Skewers Pete Hegseth & RFK Jr. in Unhinged Takedown

Michelle Stein October 11, 2026, 8:37 am

What To Know

SNL‘s cold open satirized Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Health and Human Services RFK Jr., lampooning their absurd speeches to Navy sailors.
The sketch mocked controversial policies, public executions, and a Department of War logo resembling a Nazi eagle.
RFK Jr.’s character joked about bizarre health crises and food recalls, while the segment ended with Hegseth singing Linkin Park.

Saturday Night Live‘s cold open skewered Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in an unhinged takedown.

On Saturday, October 10, SNL took aim at President Donald Trump‘s cabinet members as Hegseth (Colin Jost) and RFK Jr. (James Austin Johnson) gave speeches to sailors on the USS Lincoln, who recently completed a 322-day deployment.

The cold open kicked off with Hegseth walking out with an ammo belt made of Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey bottles.

“I’m honored to be here addressing all you brave men…and women,” Hegseth said, before asking the Navy service members how they were doing.

After one sailor pointed out, “We’re bad,” Hegseth replied, “OK, I heard ‘awesome.'”

The secretary of war added. “After seven months at war, you’re back home safe at sunny San Diego, which the president just asked Iran to blow up. I couldn’t be more proud of you. 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.”

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Next, Hegseth briefed the sailors on what they have missed on land.

“In December, as we get into the Christmas spirit, we’re gonna execute a guy in a wheelchair on live TV,” he announced. “Yeah, that’s right, public executions are back. Kinda like Scrubs. And if the guy somehow survives the firing squad, then he’s got to fight Jake Paul.”

Hegseth also said that he recently unveiled the new logo for the Department of War.

“Sorry, is that a Nazi eagle?” one sailor asked, to which Hegseth explained, “It’s an American eagle with a Nazi vibe.”

The same sailor insisted, “Yeah, it just looks identical to the Nazi eagle,” prompting Hegseth to fire back, “Yeah, the only eagle you should be worried about is your mom spread-eagle on my bed right now.”

That’s when RFK Jr. took the podium to address the sailors.

“I’m happy to report that America is healthier than ever,” Johnson, doing his best RFK Jr. impression, proclaimed. “That’s why I would officially like to rename cold and flu season to cold and flue and listeria and measles and trench brain season. We’re also looking into something called testicular dementia.”

Additionally, RFK Jr. acknowledged that 200,000 pounds of pork, beef, and goat had been recalled, pointing out, “But I just want to stress that catfish, pony, and cricket are viable proteins for any American family.”

He also thanked the sailors for testing the meat on them before speaking gibberish, prompting Hegseth to slap him on the back and cause him to speak clearly.

To end the address, Hegseth sang a portion of Linkin Park’s “In the End” and expressed gratitude for the sailors.

“Thank you for all being willing to go down with the ship, even though it breaks my personal rule of never going down on anyone,” he said. “And live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”

Saturday Night Live, Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC