“Saturday Night Live” had to put a button on a truly awful week in their cold open. Even their own version of Donald Trump, played by James Austin Johnson, was feeling a little squeamish. So, they opened the Teyana Taylor-hosted episode with a big, gilded distraction: The 1st Annual Trumps.
The fake awards show celebrated Trump’s love of meaningless awards and unearned hardware, with Johnson explaining the inspiration for the bash at the top of the sketch.
“After that lady whose name I already forget gave me her Nobel Prize, I thought, ‘I need more awards,’” he said. “And after what all my little freaks and psychos in ICE have been doing, I need more distractions.”
Trump toasted his crowd of cronies (“So many awful, terrible people in the house”) before diving into a ceremony heavy on self-congratulation. Accepting one of his many awards, Johnson’s Trump put a spin on Sally Field’s iconic Oscar acceptance speech.
“I love me, I really love me. I have so few people to thank. Myself and of course the big man upstairs, which is what I call my brain tumor,” he said. “There is so much horrible stuff going on in our country and the world right now. But I promise you — I’m just getting started.”
The sketch featured cameos from Argentinian president Javier Milei (Marcello Hernández) and Elon Musk (“SNL” alum Mike Myers). Myers’ Musk kicked off an “in memoriam” segment soundtracked by a somber version of the “America’s Funniest Home Videos” theme. The ceremony paid their respects to NATO, checks and balances and Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Watch the sketch below via YouTube:
Read more
about this topic
