Cecily Strong Returned as Jeanine Pirro in SNL's "Trump Mother's Day Cold Open"
The beloved former cast member, who welcomed a baby girl on April 2, spit-showered Colin Jost's Pete Hegseth in wine.
Happy Mother's Day to Cecily Strong! The beloved former Saturday Night Live cast member is celebrating the holiday as a mom for her first time, and she give SNL fans the gift of reviving her impression of former Fox News anchor Jeanine Pirro on Walton Goggins' May 11 episode.
At the outset, the "Trump Mother's Day Cole Open" seemed to be headed in a very different direction, appearing to be a classic SNL segment co-starring the cast's moms, just as the show did in Season 49 (revisit that sweet cold open here). But James Austin Johnson's President Trump quickly shooed Bowen Yang, Marcello Hernández, and Kenan Thompson offstage mid-serenade.
"Hello, it's me again, invading all aspects of your life," Johnson's Trump told the camera. "Don't worry, those weren't even the real moms, those were actors. Can you believe that?"
He went on to acknowledge the endless stream of memes about newly-selected Pope Leo XIV hailing from Chicago: "Why aren't we doing 'Da Pope' or something, right? Like 'Da Bears' but 'Daaa Prayers', you know what I mean?" Praising the conclave and Catholicism, Trump lamented holy water."Why's that stuff burn so bad when it hits your skin, huh?" he wondered.
But instead of a papal spin on "Bill Swerski's Superfans," Trump opted to reintroduce his new DC prosecutor appointee.
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Cecily Strong's Jeanine Pirro sprayed Colin Jost down in SNL's Mother's Day cold open
"Some good news: I just appointed one of the loudest people I know to be the U.S. Attorney in D.C.," Trump continued. "Jeanine Pirro — come on out, Jeanine, c'mon!"
Enter Strong as Pirro, as the SNL studio audience cheered her first appearance on the show since she departed the cast in Season 48.
"Look at this! Jeanine has brought her files, and she's ready to work," Trump said, pointing at the bag she walked on with.
"Oh, no! This is a koozie for my Merlot-zie," she corrected, pulling out a bottle of wine and a glass. "I'm so proud to be part of this group full of Russian assets, boozehounds, and people famous for the little baby animals they've killed."
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After Strong's Pirro declared that there's "a bad new mamajamma layin' down the law, gettin' down in Funkytown lookin' fine and sippin' wine" — punctuating it with a sip — Trump said he loves Pirro's work as one of the talking heads on her network's The Five program.
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"I'm the Whoopi," Pirro crowed. Trump then introduced Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (Colin Jost), who soon bore the force of Strong's spit takes, drenching his face and suit in wine.
"Hey Pete, you're not drinking again, are you?" Trump asked the scandal-plagued Secretary.
Claiming he promised he'd "never have a bottle touch my lips" again, he admitted he had some news to share. "But before I do, Jeanine you want to take a swig of this?"
She obliged, and — well, let's just say Jost fully committed to keeping his mouth open in the moments after. Watch "Trump Mother's Day Cold Open" from Season 50, Episode 19 above.
Cecily Strong welcomed her first baby on April 2, 2025
Strong first announced her pregnancy via IVF in a moving Instagram post on November 1, 2024, and welcomed her first child with her fiancé John on April 2, 2025.
"She makes Robert DeNiro faces and snorts when she is super determined on the boob. She’s gonna be stronger than me in about a week. Her squeaks and sighs are my favorite noises on earth," Strong captioned a photo ofher newborn daughter sleeping in a bassinet as the comedian and her dog also dozed. "Born with a full head of dark hair which made me scream 'whoo hoo!' while pushing. And I’ve been screaming Whoo hoo every day since because she’s absolutely perfect and I won the lottery."
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"John is the best dad I could ever have imagined (he is a diapering/swaddling/bottle washing/breakfast cooking/medicine picker upper/tech support with Baby Brezza handling/dog cuddling so she never feels left out/breastfeeding and pumping helping pro and is at this moment wearing the baby and listening to classical music for babies) and best partner I could have imagined (this man hand fed me crispy rice from Blue Ribbon Sushi in the hospital)," she added. "Sorry for the run on sentences — I’ve called the pediatrician 'the vet' almost 35 times."
While Strong made a brief appearance in February's SNL50: The Anniversary Special, she had not appeared on the sketch show since she said her goodbye during Austin Butler's episode in the middle of Season 48.
How long was Cecily Strong on SNL?
11 seasons.
Strong debuted alongside Aidy Bryant and Tim Robinson in Season 38, and left midway through Season 48. She was the longest-running woman cast member in SNL history.
