The sketch opened with a classic haunted attraction setting: a young couple, played by Grace Reiter and Jeremy Culhane, embarking on a low-end amusement park Halloween ride. Their guide for the spooky journey was Kenan Thompson, donning a ghoulish Grim Reaper costume. The ride's scares soon gave way to a dose of quirky humor with the arrival of David S. Pumpkins. Tom Hanks, reprising his iconic 2016 role, appeared alongside Mikey Day and a special cameo from former 'SNL' trouper Bobby Moynihan, all three in their signature skeleton jumpers and white face paint, performing Pumpkins' signature dorky dance routine.
However, the festive fright took an abrupt detour when James Austin Johnson, as President Trump, interrupted the proceedings. Lamenting the bleak poll numbers for Republicans ahead of the November 3rd midterm elections, Trump quickly veered into a string of unexpectedly risqué jokes. He expressed an unusual obsession with the physiques of candidates he'd been endorsing at recent rallies, remarking on their 'great ass.' He even turned his attention to Hanks' character, quipping, "Good acting, great ass. A great ass on Hanks — something that I’ve enjoyed lately admiring. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Just that I might be gay." Trump further complained about the midterms, noting that polls predicted a poor showing and that 'Texas is turning purple' – a comment accompanied by him showing off a giant bruised hand. He then endorsed Texas’ GOP candidate Ken Paxton despite calling him 'an ugly son of a bitch,' contrasting him with the 'much better looking' Democrat James Talarico. Thompson's Grim Reaper character, breaking from the scene, sniped back at Trump's request for a donation with a blunt, "Yeah, you wish, bitch."
The chaotic cold open welcomed another surprising guest: Saidah Belo-Osagie as Nicki Minaj. Spoofing the star's vocal support for Trump, Minaj was introduced as his potential next press secretary. Belo-Osagie's Minaj declared, "Trump’s out here killing it — and by it, I mean my career," adding another layer of absurdity. Trump, continuing his fixation, then commented on Minaj's well-known curves, suggesting he might admire them 'if it was on a man.' The segment concluded with Katie Zacharia, who had a spectacularly quick flame-out as press secretary earlier in the month, comically flubbing the iconic 'Live from New York, it’s Saturday night' opening line, sealing a truly memorable and unhinged Halloween special from 'Saturday Night Live'.