Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

‘SNL’ Sings Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ In Season Finale Send-Off To Trump

‘Saturday Night Live’ used Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ to send a hilarious season finale shot at President Trump.

Alec Baldwin opened the show by playing Trump and crooning his version of the last Jewish songwriter’s classic, defending himself against various perceived plots against him.

He was joined by other characters who have mocked Trump’s inner circle since his election including Kate McKinnon playing a new role as advisor Kellyanne Conway.

There was even a cameo by Scarlett Johannson reprising her role as Ivanka Trump.

It was all a flashback to the weekend after Trump’s shocking November win, a week that also saw the death of Cohen.

But there was a hint at the real-life dark mood that has enveloped Trump as investigations into his purported campaign ties with Russia and firing of FBI Director James Comey hit closer to home.

“I’m not giving up because I didn’t do anything wrong,” Baldwin sang. “But I can’t say the same for these people.”

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly. 

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at editorial@forward.com, subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.

Exit mobile version