Saturday Night Live took aim at two of the most visible members of South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem’s administration this weekend — and the real-life officials quickly joined in on the joke.
Poehler Absolutely Serves As Bondi
The long running late night comedy’s latest cold open featured Tina Fey as Noem and Amy Poehler as Attorney General Pam Bondi, skewering their recent controversies with a mix of political satire and absurd humor. The sketch opened with Poehler’s Bondi fending off questions from senators about everything from the Jeffrey Epstein files to her role in the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey. “I’m not going to discuss my private conversations with the president,” Poehler said, slipping into Bondi’s soft drawl. “I’m not telling you who fell asleep in the middle of a sentence, or who kept calling me Ivanka while patting his lap.” The bit escalated when Fey appeared as Noem, entering the frame in a DHS cap and toting an assault rifle. “That’s right, it’s me, Kristi,” she announced. “I spell my name with an ‘I’ because that’s how I thought it was spelled.”
Pam Bondi Loved The Sketch
The sketch quickly went viral — and by Sunday morning, the real Bondi had responded on X (formerly Twitter). “Loving Amy Poehler!” she wrote, sharing a screenshot from the episode. “Kristi Noem, should we recreate this picture in Chicago?” Noem herself didn’t comment publicly, but her Department of Homeland Security did. Tricia McLaughlin, the DHS Assistant Secretary, told Entertainment Weekly that the parody “got one thing right — the Democrats’ shutdown does need to end.” It was a wink toward the real-world budget impasse that has furloughed thousands of federal workers nationwide.
Fey’s Impression of Noem Is Brutal
In the sketch, Fey’s Noem delivered one of the night’s sharpest moments with a monologue about ICE recruitment. “How did I find them?” she said. “By running ads like this: Do you need a job now? Yeah. Are you a big, tough guy? Yeah. Tough enough for the army or police? No. Do you take supplements that you bought at a gas station? Daily. Do you like to use zip ties because people in your life don’t trust you with keys? You know it. Suck on some of these, big boy. Welcome to ICE.”
Fey and Poehler Have A History Of Skewering Politicians
The parody leaned into SNL’s long history of lampooning politicians — from Tina Fey’s own impression of Sarah Palin in 2008 to Melissa McCarthy’s legendary turn as Sean Spicer. This weekend’s cold open followed a week of headlines involving both Bondi and Noem, who have faced scrutiny for their handling of investigations, their political messaging, and, in Noem’s case, her own public image following a series of viral interviews.
The Sketch Was Polarizing
Reactions online were predictably split. Supporters of the administration praised the officials for taking the sketch in stride, while critics applauded SNL for cutting close to the bone. Whether or not the real Noem and Bondi ever “recreate” the moment, the exchange proved that both women remain at the center of the cultural conversation — as likely to trend on late-night TV as they are in the political headlines.
