SNL fans think Aziz Ansari ‘nailed’ his Kash Patel impression

Saturday Night Live returned to US TV screens on Saturday, with “good 4 u” singer Olivia Rodrigo on both hosting and musical guest duties, and the cast were back poking fun at President Donald Trump’s administration, in a cold open which saw Parks and Recreation star Aziz Ansari make his first appearance as FBI director Kash Patel.

Beginning with Ashley Padilla’s Karoline Leavitt talking about her upcoming maternity leave, Colin Jost appears with his take on Pete Hegseth, mocking the US government’s actions in Iran.

“As you might have seen on our sick-ass TikTok, we’ve been bombing stuff, doing sick air raids. This war has been a movie – specifically The NeverEnding Story.

“We’ve hit Iran with everything we’ve got: missiles, bombs, drones, and twins! But now we’re in a ceasefire – wink – which is why I have time to come talk to you butt-munches,” he says, before taking questions from reporters.

Then, Jost’s Hegseth introduces Ansari’s take on Patel, saying he “wants to say hello, before he’s almost certainly fired”.

Earlier this month, it was reported that White House officials are “openly discussing” who will replace Patel as FBI director following a report by The Atlantic about his alleged excessive drinking and other concerning conduct.

Patel’s lawyers, in a $250 defamation lawsuit against the outlet, labelled the report a “sweeping, malicious and defamatory hit piece”.

Taking to the lectern and immediately staring at the camera, Ansari’s Patel says: “After the attempted assassination of President Trump – another one – we’ve conducted an investigation that could not have been more thorough. We’ve dotted every T and bulged every eye.

“And for those of you saying I’m doing a bad job running the FBI, well, what if I told you this agency is only six weeks away from pinpointing the exact location of Osama bin Laden?”

SNL

The al-Qaeda leader was killed in 2011, with then US president Barack Obama confirming America carried out an operation which saw the terrorist killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

So, a bit late on that one.

Ansari’s Patel continues: “You guys should not be reporting the lies and the gossip; you should be reporting on the historic nature of my appointment.

“I’m a trailblazer. I’m the first Indian person to suck at their job.

“Everyone says Indian people are smart, hardworking, incredibly intelligent. I’ve proved without a shadow of a doubt, that we can be just as incapable and incompetent as the whites.”

The skit has since been praised on social media, with Wu Tang is for the Children writing that Ansari “absolutely nailed it”:

“They went innnnn on him,” tweeted Buzzfeed editorial director Spencer Althouse:

Democrat content creator Harry Sisson said Ansari gave a “perfect portrayal” of Patel:

And Majid Padellan, known online as Brooklyn Dad Defiant, commented: “The only thing better than Colin Jost as Pete Hegseth is Aziz Ansari joining him as Kash Patel”:

The White House has been approached by indy100 for comment.

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