The first episode of Saturday evening live since Donald Trump’s election victory, it mocked billionaire Elon Musk and debuted a “Hot, Jacked Trump,” while cast members insisted they had been with the Republican “all along.”

The episode’s cold open started off on a down-to-earth note as cast members discussed Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris earlier this week.

“On Tuesday, Americans went to the polls and elected Donald Trump as the next president of the United States,” Bowen Yang said.

“For many people, including many people watching this show now, the results were shocking and even horrifying,” Ego Nwodim said.

“Donald Trump, who violently tried to overturn the results of the last election, was overwhelmingly put back in office,” Heidi Gardner said.

“This is the same Donald Trump who openly called for revenge against his political enemies,” said Kenan Thompson.

“And thanks to the Supreme Court, there are now no guardrails,” Yang said.

Then Thompson delivered the punch line: “That’s why we at SNL would like to say to Donald Trump: we have always been with you.”

Yang added, “We have never wavered in our support for you, even when others doubted you.”

Sarah Sherman said, “Everyone on this stage believed in you.”

And Marcello Hernández added: “Everyone on this stage voted for you.”

The cast members continued to praise Trump, with Thompson adding, “If you’re keeping some kind of list of your enemies, then we shouldn’t be on that list.”

Sherman then introduced a new character “Hot, Jacked Trump”, prompting James Austin Johnson to come out as a muscular version of the president-elect.

He then claimed that the show – which Trump had long mocked – would now only make a flattering impression.

“They finally got the body right,” Johnson said in his Trump voice. “But from now on, we’re going to do a very flattering portrayal of Trump because, honestly, he’s my hero and he’s going to be an incredible president and ultimately king. We love you, friend.”

Thompson later said that “in the worst-case scenario, that is, scenario, if our planet falls apart, we can all go to Mars with the other man we love and trust: Elon Musk.”

Dana Carvey then took the stage and gave an impression of the X-owner, who was one of Trump’s biggest donors and could play a formal role in the new administration.

Carvey’s Musk imitated Musk’s antics on the campaign trail, jumping up and down and performing some dance moves as the show’s cast members looked on with straight faces.

“Look: dark MAGA. Yes! But seriously, I run the country now,” he said.

“America is going to be one of my rockets. They’re super cool and super fun, but there’s a small chance it will blow up and everyone will die. Ha ha! I’m a dark MAGA. See you in the White House. USA! USA!”

The episode marked the first time this season that happened SNL didn’t start with Maya Rudolph as Harris, who made a surprise cameo as herself in last week’s episode.