Alec Baldwin is already breaking his promises to the American people less than 24 hours after Donald Trump became president.
The 58-year-old funnyman, who has been portraying the president on “Saturday Night Live” since the debates, was noticeably absent from the sketch comedy’s first show since the inauguration.
He had vowed to show up Saturday night, telling Entertainment last week, “We’re going to play [Trump] the day after the inauguration. [I’m] doing SNL the day after the inauguration.”
“All of this comedy stuff we do on SNL, Trump is our head writer. Trump just hands it to us in a basket with a big bow on it every day,” he added.
But instead of Baldwin mocking Trump, SNL started the show with a shirtless Vladimir Putin, played by castmember Beck Bennett.
“Hooray! We did it, huh? And today, many of you are scared and marching in the streets. You are worried that your country is in the hands of this unpredictable man, but don’t worry,” the Russian president said to the American people in a “paid message from the Russian Federation.”
“Relax, I got this. Puty is going to make everything OK,” he continued.
Bennett also taunted Trump over his failure to beat former President Obama’s attendance record for the inauguration.
“Today, you went to the CIA and said one million people showed up to D.C. If you’re going to lie, don’t make it so obvious,” he said.
Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, played by Kate McKinnon, also made an appearance in Saturday’s episode, singing a musical tune about her newfound fame during a CNN interview.
The show ended with a tribute to Obama, with castmembers Cecily Strong and Sasheer Zamata serenading a large black and white portrait of the 44th president with the song, “To Sir, With Love.”
They closed the night by telling Obama, “We got you a mug. It says ‘World’s Best President.’”
And then the screen faded to black with the message, “Thank You, President Obama.”