In a biting political satire, Saturday Night Live used its latest cold open to lampoon President Donald Trump for reportedly falling asleep during official meetings, while also poking fun at his unexpectedly warm rapport with New York City's incoming mayor.
Dreaming of a Socialist Mayor
The sketch, which aired on Saturday 8 December 2025, opened with a press conference addressing the controversial U.S. military strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, played by Colin Jost, vehemently denied reports of a rift with the President. "Trump has my back 100%," Jost's Hegseth insisted, praising him as a "high energy alpha."
The camera then cut to President Trump, portrayed by James Austin Johnson, visibly dozing in his chair. This was a clear nod to real-life footage from a recent Cabinet meeting where the President appeared to close his eyes for extended periods. In his slumber, the fictional Trump murmured, "Stop Mamdani, you can freeze my rent anytime," referencing Democratic socialist and mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.
This joke followed the real lengthy and friendly White House meeting between Trump and Mamdani, which some commentators described as a 'love-fest' and even sparked jokes about Vice President JD Vance's jealousy.
'Fog of War' and Relentless Attacks
Jolting awake, Johnson's Trump denied sleeping. "I'm very much awake," he declared. "Now someone quickly tell me where am I, who am I and what year might it be." After offering shaky support to Hegseth—"we love Pete, he's a great guy"—he promptly shoved the Defence Secretary off stage.
The sketch then tackled the administration's authorisation of a controversial follow-up strike on 2 September, known as a 'double-tap,' launched after survivors were seen on a wrecked vessel. Parodying Hegseth's real-world justification, Johnson quipped, "It was just fog of war right? Fog of war. It's a thing you only say after doing war crime."
Earlier, Jost's Hegseth took questions from reporters with aggressive disdain, telling them to "pretend I'm a random fishing boat and fire away." He dismissed a question about personally ordering survivors to be killed by saying, "that kind of cruel heartless act has no place in Operation Kill Everybody."
Political Fallout and Slumbering Finale
The spoof highlighted the deep political divide over the military strikes. While Democratic lawmakers have called footage of the attack "one of the most troubling things" they've seen, Republicans have largely backed the Pentagon, calling the second strike "righteous" and "lawful." The strikes have killed at least 84 people, and Hegseth has refused to commit to releasing video evidence.
In a moment of typical political expediency, Johnson's Trump claimed, "I stand by Pete. And nothing can change my mind unless of course it could hurt me in any way in which case I'll throw him under one of Mamdani's free buses."
The cold open concluded as it began, with a reporter asking Trump about voters blaming him for the affordability crisis. When the camera cut back to the President for his answer, he was once again fast asleep.
