Tom Hanks returned to Saturday Night Live in his pumpkin-covered suit on Halloween, but David S. Pumpkins barely got started before the sketch changed direction. James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump impersonation interrupted the reunion and turned the haunted attraction into a setting for political comedy.
The 70-year-old actor made the surprise appearance during the October 31 cold open. Mikey Day and former cast member Bobby Moynihan joined him as the character’s two skeleton companions, complete with matching costumes and white face paint.
The interruption also made Hanks part of the joke. Johnson addressed the actor directly while the performers behind him stood frozen, teasing viewers who had expected another full encounter with the mysterious Halloween character.
The episode was hosted by Obsession actress Inde Navarrette, with Gracie Abrams as musical guest. Their Halloween broadcast arrived on the final weekend before the November 3 midterm elections, giving the opening sketch two occasions to draw on.
The Haunted Ride Starts With a Familiar Pumpkin-Suited Attraction
The scene opened with Grace Reiter and Jeremy Culhane playing visitors to Tombs of Doom, a haunted ride guided by Kenan Thompson. Its early scares included a display featuring Lizzie Borden before the doors opened onto a much less recognizable figure.
Hanks stepped forward in a suit patterned with jack-o’-lanterns. He and the skeletons performed their deliberately awkward dance before he offered his familiar invitation: “Any questions?”
The riders had several. They wanted to know who he was and why he belonged among the attraction’s frightening characters. Pumpkins identified himself as a Halloween guy, but that did little to explain his presence.
Pumpkins promised an answer in two words. Johnson’s Trump supplied one: “Midterms!” As TheWrap reported, the impression brought the ride to a halt before its Halloween story could continue.
Johnson’s Trump Turns the Cold Open Toward the Midterms
“I’ll save you four minutes,” Johnson’s Trump told the audience. His explanation mocked the character’s recurring formula, before he compared himself with Pumpkins as another loud, orange presence associated with 2016.
The impression moved into jokes about admiring men’s physiques, including a compliment about Hanks’ backside. Johnson also portrayed Trump fretting over Republican prospects in the election and making unflattering remarks about Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton.
Thompson broke the frozen-scene convention by walking away. When Johnson’s Trump thanked him for a supposed donation, Thompson dismissed the suggestion, getting a brief exchange of his own amid the monologue.
Saidah Belo-Osagie subsequently appeared as Nicki Minaj. In the sketch, Johnson’s Trump introduced her as a potential future press secretary, while her character joked that supporting him was damaging her career.
Hanks and His Skeletons Get to Deliver the Opening Line
The final introduction initially went to Veronika Slowikowska, playing Katie Zacharia. Her character stumbled through the show’s traditional opening announcement, prompting Johnson to move her aside.
He then handed the moment back to the performers whose Halloween routine he had interrupted. Hanks, Day and Moynihan delivered “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!” together, as Rolling Stone noted.
David S. Pumpkins Had Already Returned in 2017 and 2022
The character debuted in “Haunted Elevator” on October 22, 2016. Created by Day, Moynihan and writer Streeter Seidell, Pumpkins repeatedly appeared between more conventional horror figures, leaving the ride’s passengers struggling to understand what he was supposed to represent.
Hanks returned in the prerecorded “Rap Song” sketch in May 2017, using the variation David S. Pimpkins. That October, he also voiced the character in The David S. Pumpkins Halloween Special, an animated adventure that included an on-camera introduction from the actor.
The haunted-attraction format returned on October 29, 2022, during an episode hosted by Jack Harlow. That sequel moved the action to Cell Block 666, a haunted prison ride whose cells supposedly contained characters from horror movies.
Harlow, Ego Nwodim and Andrew Dismukes played the visitors, with Day and Moynihan again accompanying Hanks. As SYFY WIRE reported, their questions produced another unlikely detail about the character: Pumpkins said he was from Ibiza.