“Giving total Tina Fey–as–Sarah Palin vibes”: Colin Jost Pete Hegseth SNL sketch yelling at Generals praised online

Colin Jost's new portrayal of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stole the stage in Saturday Night Live's season 51 premiere, which brought back the show's signature political satire. Jost was dressed in full military attire for the October 4 episode, which parodied Hegseth's recent controversial comments on the U.S. military being "too liberal" and "too soft."

The sketch took no time to go viral. It was unexpected to see Jost in the character of Pete Hegseth from his usual Weekend Update anchor role. The internet went crazy. A user commented:

“Giving total Tina Fey–as–Sarah Palin vibes”

This was a clear reference to Hegseth’s real-life criticism of inclusivity policies. Jost's portrayal of Hegseth told top military officers:

“I summoned all of you here today to address a serious problem, okay? Our military is gay as hell! Thanks to failed, liberal policies, our army has never been gayer, and yet, it’s also never been fatter. Make that make sense.”

He continued to list out strict standards such as “6′6″, $1.75, A cups, perky, with a dump truck in the back you wouldn’t even believe.":

“And hey, if you’re out there and you don’t want to lose the weight, you don’t want to follow the rules, hey, no problem. You know who’s gonna want your sick, twisted, fat a--? ICE. We’ve got a sign-up sheet for ICE in the hallway, check them out."

Jost then went on to mention recent efforts by the Trump administration to send the National Guard to Portland, saying:

“From now on, we’re doing army, and army only. And we will be doing it in one of the bloodiest, war-torn places on the face of the Earth: Portland, Oregon!”

He then went back to the strict standards of the military, making a joke where the military now shared similar rules to a college frat:

"The same rules as any good frat party: no fat chicks. And if you’re a fat dude, goddammit, you better be funny as hell.”

He concluded that the military will have "no fuggos, no fatties, no facial hair, no body hair":

“In summary, this is the whole meeting: no fuggos, no fatties, no facial hair, no body hair. Just hot, shredded, hairless men, who are definitely not gay. Cause this is serious. We’re facing the greatest threat to freedom and democracy the world has ever known. And we all know what that threat is.”

To which the audience and the internet reacted when James Austin, who was portraying President Donald Trump, interrupted with the answer “Late-night TV.”

As he continued to say:

“Just here keeping my eye on ‘SNL‘ making sure they don’t do anything too mean about me.”

He concluded with:

“Remember: Daddy’s watching.”

After he made references to SNL's latest firings and hirings.

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The internet has a field day with Colin Jost's portrayal of Pete Hegseth on SNL

Following the episode, the internet had a field day with tweets about the episode all over social media. Many were surprised by how natural Colin Jost looked as he portrayed Hegseth. A user commented that his delivery was similar to Tina Fey's iconic portrayal of Sarah Palin:

"Colin Jost as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is the hilarious surprise I didn’t know I needed tonight. He’s giving total Tina Fey–as–Sarah Palin vibes — that perfect blend where you can’t tell what’s scripted and what’s actually been said!"

Following this, more users chimed in, with a user expressing genuine surprise at Jost's range, which was beyond his usual Weekend Update role:

"Colin Jost was surprisingly good at doing Hegseth!"

Another user summed it all up:

"Colin Jost as Pete Hegseth was funny as sh*t."

While a third could not stop laughing at the image of Jost shouting at top military officers:

"LMAOOO, Colin Jost yelling at 800 generals as Pete Hegseth."

Another user stated that Jost deserved an Emmy for his performance:

"Colin Jost deserves an Emmy for this SNL performance!"

A user stated at Jost's ability to do more than just one-liners:

"Colin finally has a character? Well, about time he multi-tasked."

Another user poked fun:

"The commander-in-chief General Fatten."

While another user poked fun at Trump, as Johnson reprised his role and referenced the Trump administration's suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live!:

"I don't have truth social. but I guarantee Trump is mad. he's probably posted about wanting Colin Jost, James Austin Johnson and Michael Che fired."

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With Josh Colin's superb performance as Pete Hegseth, we can expect it again in the near future.

Stay tuned to Soap Central for more information.