James Talarico insists on "Senator" in SNL's cold open

MS NOW's clip of the Texas senator-elect correcting a Trump impersonator drew more than 370,000 views in ten hours.

Channel: MS NOW Story of November 9, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 634,178 views a day, 16 times a normal first day on this channel (38,488).

'That's SENATOR Talafreako' Texas Senator-elect makes SURPRISE SNL appearence

MS NOW's post-election coverage takes a detour onto the Saturday Night Live stage, where James Talarico has a correction for the actor playing Donald Trump: put "Senator" before that nickname.

The Texas Democrat walks into the cold open mid-speech, turning the impersonator's insult into an introduction to his newly won office. Applause briefly holds up the exchange. This is a scripted comedy appearance, with Talarico playing himself opposite a Trump impersonator, not an encounter with the president.

The Short has already drawn far more views than MS NOW's usual full first day for that format. The channel posted an excerpt from SNL, rather than producing the sketch itself.

Talarico follows the entrance with a joke about the fundraising texts Americans may recognize, introducing himself as the person asking them for money. Then he suggests working together to improve Americans' lives, before revealing another concern: how long SNL can keep building its cold opens around Trump. The pair finish shoulder to shoulder with the show's familiar opening catchphrase.

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More from MS NOWNews 364K views since yesterdayThompson calls Colom's Mississippi lead "poetic justice"On MS NOW, the congressman links the uncalled Senate race to a blocked judgeship and outlines plans for ICE oversight.Channel: MS NOW · Story of November 9, 2026 Also in News networks and broadcastersVideo taking off 11x its usual first dayVictoria Barracks sale halted, but military move still draws scrutinyNews24's Jaimee Rogers questions why Defence personnel will still relocate, while Jason Clare says the move will save taxpayers money.Channel: News24 · Story of November 9, 2026 A different discovery todayVideo taking off 12x its usual first dayKenan Thompson's Jeffries has a warning for Trump: "Knock it off, buster"SNL's post-midterm cold open crowds Trump, Vance, Hegseth and a real James Talarico into the Democrats' champagne party.Channel: Saturday Night Live · Story of November 9, 2026

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James Talarico insists on "Senator" in SNL's cold open The full story on Trari: https://trari.com/en/story/msnow-31185/?from=kit

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The numbers

The SNL excerpt passed MS NOW's usual full-day audience for a Short well before its first day was over.

the video's first day

usual first day here

38,488

this video

634,178

subscribers

10,100,000

▲ 100,000 in the last 7 days

total views

21,976,904,327

views per day

13,096,481

typical day: 20,917,998

the video

views

371,833

likes

5,630

comments

267

days online

1

subscribers: this channel and similar channels

Vox

12,700,000

NBC News

12,200,000

MS NOW

10,100,000

Sky News

9,400,000

VICE News

9,300,000

USA TODAY

7,600,000

As of November 9, 2026 · Data source: Trari Social News, Trari Traffic Trends and Ranking Platform, Google YouTube

Subscriber, view, like and comment counts are YouTube's. Rates, usual days, rankings, comparisons and categories are Trari's own calculations.