SNL Skit: President Obama Explains the Effects of the Sequester Budget Cuts

Posted on March 3, 2013

Saturday Night Live opened with a skit about the sequester and who the budget cuts will affect most. Jay Pharoah plays President Obama making a speech about the budget, which he explains will require sacrifices from everyone, including the first family: "My wife Michelle will only do four television appearances a week."

He then had a succession of guests who explain how the cuts will affect their jobs. The Border Patrol agent (Bill Hader) explains that "We're going to let every tenth Mexican run across the border." The female astronaut (Kate McKinnon) explains that their spacesuit helmets will no longer have glass, so they'll have to hold their breath on spacewalks.

Aidy Bryant was a teacher who got fired from an inner city school. She was actually happy about her job loss noting, "This is greatest day of my entire life. Good luck reading Beowulf, you monsters." Obama then brought out a construction worker, a sailor, a cop and a Native American to spell out the cuts, YMCA style.