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Arts & EntertainmentSaturday Night Live

Watch Saturday Night Live’s Shirtless Vladimir Putin Assure America About President Trump

By
Mahita Gajanan
Mahita Gajanan
and
TIME
TIME
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Mahita Gajanan
Mahita Gajanan
and
TIME
TIME
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 22, 2017, 10:35 AM ET
Saturday Night Live - Season 42
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE -- "Felicity Jones" Episode 1715 -- Pictured: (l-r) Bobby Moynihan, Vanessa Bayer, Sasheer Zamata as reporters, and Beck Bennett as Vladimir Putin during the Trump Press Conference Cold Open on January 14th, 2017 -- (Photo by: Will Heath/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)NBC NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Saturday Night Live‘s Vladimir Putin attempted to reassure Americans anxious about President Donald Trump in a special message from Russia during the show’s cold open.

“Today, many of you are scared and marching in the streets. You are worried that the country is in the hands of this unpredictable man,” the shirtless Russian president, played by Beck Bennett, said. “It’s not. Relax, I got this.”

[hulu id=1g3bnvcxla0lguj3p5gcng width=512 height=288]

Putin also took a critical eye to the 36 hours of Trump’s presidency, saying that though the new president is “perhaps not” perfect, he could “get him there.”

For more on the Women’s March, watch:

“I’m glad to see so many people showed up to your inauguration,” Putin said, addressing Trump and showing a picture of a packed National Mall in Washington D.C. “Oh wait, that’s the Women’s March.”

Millions of people turned out in D.C. and cities across the U.S. and the world in opposition to the Trump Administration’s views on Saturday. The massive attendance overshadowed the relatively small presence at Trump’s inaugural ceremony.

For more on the Women’s March, watch:

Although Alec Baldwin did not appear to play Trump following the presidential inauguration, SNL took on the new administration’s inaccurate statements about the size of the crowd at the inauguration on Friday with some friendly advice for Trump.

“Today you went to the CIA and said 1 million people came to see you in Washington, D.C.,” Putin said. “If you’re going to lie, don’t make it so obvious. Say you are friends with LeBron James—not that you are LeBron James.”

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