Shane Gillis Crashes ‘SNL’ Cold Open As Curtis Sliwa In Chaotic NYC Mayoral Debate With Miles Teller and Trump

Saturday Night Live turned New York City politics into pure chaos this weekend as Shane Gillis made a surprise appearance in the cold open, crashing the stage as Guardian Angels founder and mayoral hopeful Curtis Sliwa.

The sketch opened with host Miles Teller playing former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who introduced himself as a “born, bred New Yorker” who “knows this city like the back of a woman’s back.” He was quickly joined by special guest Ramy Youssef as Zohran Mamdani, the real-life state Assembly member, who joked, “I’m ready to spend the next hour hearing my opponents pronounce my name in ways you couldn’t begin to imagine.”

“And I know some of you are out there scared of the idea of a young socialist Muslim mayor,” he added. “So allow me to put you at ease by smiling after every answer in a way that physically hurts my face.”

Gillis entered the scene as Sliwa, playing up the red beret-wearing candidate with characteristic swagger, but his appearance was just the start of the chaos. The debate spiraled when James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump stormed onstage in response to a question about the “biggest problem” facing NYC.

“It’s me!” Trump announced. “Yes, they can pretend this election is about housing and taxes, but we all know it’s about me, right?”

He even delivered his own NYC “bagel” order: “A Big Mac with a hole in the middle,” before breaking into a Phantom of the Opera-inspired musical rant: “Come on, open up your mind. Let your fantasies unwind in this darkness which you know. The darkness of the music of the night.”

During his monologue, Teller switched gears to get candid about losing his home in the California wildfires earlier this year. “A few months ago, my wife and I lost our house in the Palisades fire,” he said, calming the crowd with: “But don’t worry… we’re doing great.” He wrapped by pointing out mock “fire exits” around Studio 8H.

Later in the episode, Teller starred in a pre-taped Property Brothers parody, teaming up with SNL’s Andrew Dismukes to renovate the White House’s East Wing for Trump’s “third term.”

“The budget is between $350 million and infinity,” Trump declared, with Melania (played by Chloe Fineman) chiming in: “We want this to be our forever home.”

“Yes, because we’re not leaving,” Johnson’s Trump added. “We’re going to be doing something called coup.”

Saturday’s episode marked Teller’s second time hosting, following his debut in 2022. Shane Gillis’ appearance arrives months after his real-life return to SNL was announced, following his 2019 firing.

Up next for SNL: Nikki Glaser takes the stage as host on November 8 with musical guest Sombr, followed by Glen Powell and Olivia Dean on November 15. This season has already featured Bad Bunny, Amy Poehler, and Sabrina Carpenter in the hosting spotlight.