--- --- # Watch _Saturday Night Live's_ Shirtless Vladimir Putin Assure America About President Trump by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Jan 22, 2017 2:56 PM UTC by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Jan 22, 2017 2:56 PM UTC [_Saturday Night Live_](http://time.com/4589823/jennifer-aniston-vanessa-bayer-snl-rachel-friends/)‘s Vladimir Putin attempted to reassure Americans anxious about President Donald Trump in a special message from Russia during the show’s cold open. “Today, many of you are scared and marching in the streets. You are worried that the country is in the hands of this unpredictable man,” the shirtless Russian president, played by Beck Bennett, said. “It’s not. Relax, I got this.” Putin also took a critical eye to the 36 hours of Trump’s presidency, saying that though the new president is “perhaps not” perfect, he could “get him there.” “I’m glad to see so many people showed up to your inauguration,” Putin said, addressing Trump and showing a picture of a [packed National Mall in Washington D.C.](http://time.com/4642400/womens-march-360-hyperlapse-video/) “Oh wait, that’s the [Women’s March](http://time.com/4642376/women-march-trump-inauguration-washington-antarctica/).” Millions of people turned out in D.C. and cities across the U.S. and the world in [opposition to the Trump Administration’s views](http://time.com/4642483/womens-march-washington-dc-360/) on Saturday. The massive attendance overshadowed the [relatively small presence](http://time.com/4642488/womens-march-washington-dc-donald-trump-action/?xid=homepage) at Trump’s inaugural ceremony. Although Alec Baldwin did not appear to play Trump following the presidential inauguration, _SNL_ took on the new administration’s [inaccurate statements](http://time.com/4639226/donald-trump-inauguration-press-secretary-watch-live/) about the size of the crowd at the inauguration on Friday with some friendly advice for Trump. “Today you went to the CIA and said 1 million people came to see you in Washington, D.C.,” Putin said. “If you’re going to lie, don’t make it so obvious. Say you are friends with LeBron James—not that you _are_ LeBron James.” SNL's Vladimir Putin Reassures America About President Trump ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4642670/snl-vladimir-putin-donald-trump-inauguration/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4642670/snl-vladimir-putin-donald-trump-inauguration/"},"headline":"Watch Saturday Night Live's Shirtless Vladimir Putin Assure America About President Trump","datePublished":"2017-01-22T14:56:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:51:47.885Z","description":"\"You are worried that the country is in the hands of this unpredictable man. It's not\"","url":"https://time.com/4642670/snl-vladimir-putin-donald-trump-inauguration/","keywords":["Television","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4642670/snl-vladimir-putin-donald-trump-inauguration/","name":"Watch Saturday Night Live's Shirtless Vladimir Putin Assure America About President Trump"}}]}] ```