"Saturday Night Live" got into the Christmas spirit this weekend -- at President Donald Trump's expense.
The show's cold open, inspired by Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," featured Alec Baldwin's Donald Trump as Scrooge, being visited by former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn in chains, played by "SNL" cast member Mikey Day.
In a nod to "A Christmas Carol," Flynn echoes Jacob Marley, Scrooge's deceased business partner, a chained and tormented ghost. Day's Flynn introduces himself as "the ghost of witness flipped."
"Mr. President, I came to warn you, it's time to come clean for the good of the country," Day's Flynn said. "There's a lot of people from your past that could come back to haunt you. Tonight, you will be visited by three of them."
Baldwin's Trump is then visited by the ghosts of Christmas past (Billy Bush, played by "SNL" cast member Alex Moffat), present (Russian president Vladimir Putin, played by "SNL" cast member Beck Bennett) and future (Hillary Clinton, played by "SNL" cast member Kate McKinnon). Also in the cold open, McKinnon plays White House counseler Kellyanne Conway, and Cecily Strong plays first lady Melania Trump.
"Can you believe I got fired just for listening to you?" Moffatt's Bush asked Baldwin's Trump, a reference to the infamous 2005 "Access Hollywood" tape that led to Bush's dismissal from the "Today" show in October 2016. Then, in a reference to "Today" show anchor Matt Lauer's firing this past week, he adds, "I’m looking pretty good in the NBC News division right now."
Bennett's shirtless Putin then emerges, and cautions the president not to mess up his presidency. "Listen, we put a lot of work into you, a lot of time and money, and you’re about to mess it all up,” Bennett's Putin said.
Then McKinnon's Hillary Clinton emerges, hidden under a black cloak before revealing herself. At first, though, Trump think Steve Bannon is under the cloak.
"You, Donald, have given me the greatest Christmas gift of all —- sexual gratification in the form of your slow demise," McKinnon's Clinton said. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to say this -— lock him up!"
Baldwin's Trump then vows to change his ways. "I know what I need to do," he said. "Erase Seasons 1-14 of 'The Apprentice' and fire Robert Mueller."