After he made headlines for his performance on the 44th season premiere of "Saturday Night Live," Kanye West loomed large on the sketch comedy show for a third week in a row.

This episode started with a cold opening focused on West's meeting with President Trump in the White House on Thursday, during which he wore a "Make America Great Again" hat and delivered an erratic 10-minute speech in front of cameras.

Alec Baldwin was back for the first time this season as Trump, sitting in a mock-up of the Oval Office. At one point, West, played by cast member Chris Redd, mentioned, "I'm a stable genius. I got a big brain. And I got the best words."

Baldwin, who as usual portrayed Trump as a self-absorbed dolt, then made a startling realization. "Oh my god. He's black me!" he said in a self-narrated fashion.

After the cold opening, which featured a number of other nods memorable moments from that White House meeting, including a simple iPhone password reveal and comments about 13th Amendment and crime in Chicago, host Seth Meyers brought up West in his monologue.

After noting he is a big fan of the rapper, Meyers said, "I am incapable of being surprised by him," even when it comes to his support for Trump. Meyers went on to describe how West did a sketch in 2007 about interrupting awards shows after which he did that for real in 2009 on stage with pop star Taylor Swift in 2009.

[Opinion: Republicans, you don't have to embrace Kanye West – it makes us look desperate]





Later on in the show, Meyers returned to his old "SNL" gig behind the "Weekend Update" desk, during which he reprised his "Really!?!" sketch, and roasted West along with Colin Jost and Michael Che.

Upon showing a photo of West hugging Trump in the Oval Office, Meyers took a shot at the duo. “It is so rare that you can see black people and white supremacists betrayed in the exact same moment," he said.

“You know, for an egomaniac, Kanye talks a lot about Trump,” Meyers added later. “The fact that he wore a Trump hat to meet Trump is so thirsty. I mean, I didn't wear Yeezys when I met Kanye because I didn't want to look desperate and no one would sell me Yeezys.”

Yeezys are a sneaker collaboration West has with Adidas.





West was such a ubiquitous presence in this week's episode that he was even referenced in a sketch that had nothing to do with him or politics. During a segment called "Traffic Stop," in which two police officers ('SNL' cast members Leslie Jones Ego Nwodim) flirt with a drunk driver (Meyers), the cops riffed off the chorus of West's hit 2005 single "Gold Digger."





The repeated West-mocking this week followed last week's "Weekend Update" during which cast member Pete Davidson recalled West's "awkward" performance during the premiere.

After encouraging West to start retaking any medication he has been prescribed for bipolar disorder, Davidson, who himself was diagnosed with a borderline personality disorder in 2016, said, "Being mentally ill is not an excuse to act like a jackass, okay? I’m quoting my therapist, my mom, and my mailman."

When West appeared on the season premiere that began on Sept. 29, he performed a couple of songs throughout the show, but it was his final number that became a controversial showstopper. After he performed "Ghost Town," West claimed he was "bullied" backstage for wearing his "MAGA" hat. He also harped on his support for Trump, Democrats and welfare, even as the live NBC feed was cut.

Afterwards, "SNL" veteran cast Kenan Thompson, who was not on-stage for that spectacle, said in an interview that West had held his castmates "hostage" for his pro-Trump rant.

"SNL" won't have any new episodes for the next couple weeks, but despite the backlash to West's comments, "SNL" advertised that NBC will air a repeat of the premiere with West next Saturday.