James Talarico, the Democratic senator-elect from Texas, made a surprise appearance in the "Saturday Night Live" cold open, humorously adopting a nickname President Donald Trump had used for him. Talarico, who recently secured a U.S. Senate seat in Texas—a state that hasn't elected a Democrat to the Senate in 38 years—interrupted a sketch featuring a Trump impersonator.
In the skit, the Trump character (played by James Austin Johnson) was listing nicknames for newly elected Democrats. After referring to Jon Ossoff as "Pinky Herman" and Abdul El-Sayed as "Mamdani for men," he began to call Talarico "Talafreako." Talarico then walked onto the stage, acknowledging the nickname by saying, "That's Senator Talafreako!"
The audience responded with applause for Talarico. He then introduced himself humorously as "the guy who's been texting you every day asking for $5." The Trump character quipped in response, "In this economy, who can blame you."
Talarico expressed a desire to work with the president to improve the lives of Americans, before jokingly remarking on the frequency of "SNL" cold opens featuring Trump. The segment concluded with the Trump character stating the "infinity" of such sketches.
The appearance occurred shortly after Talarico's significant election victory in Texas.