'SNL' Cold Open tackles Trump's rising gas prices

"A promise is just a lie that hasn't happened yet."
 By 
Chance Townsend
 on 
Man in suit with red tie standing in front of a family at a gas station
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This week's Saturday Night Live cold open sticks to the formula that's been working all season — James Austin Johnson's uncanny Trump impression anchoring a tour through the latest week of governmental chaos. The Cold Open starts with a family stranded at a gas station, forced to make the grim calculation of which kid gets left behind after gas prices blow past $5 a gallon in the wake of the Iran war.

Then the family freezes, and Trump appears with this week's unhinged stream of consciousness. The sketch breaks the fourth wall just enough, with a nod to that night's host, Harry Styles, and a sharp dig at Marcello Hernandez's well-established role as the show's perpetual child actor.

"He's SNL's little chihuahua," Johnson's Trump declares. "That sounds racist, and it is."

Colin Jost's Pete Hegseth also makes an appearance, randomly tumbling out of the back of the family's Chevy Impala wearing shoes several sizes too big — a gift from Trump that he's apparently obsessed with.

Topics SNL

Headshot of a Black man
Chance Townsend
Assistant Editor, General Assignments

Chance Townsend is the General Assignments Editor at Mashable, covering tech, video games, dating apps, digital culture, and whatever else comes his way. He has a Master's in Journalism from the University of North Texas and is a proud orange cat father. His writing has also appeared in PC Mag and Mother Jones.

In his free time, he cooks, loves to sleep, and greatly enjoys Detroit sports. If you have any tips or want to talk shop about the Lions, you can reach out to him on Bluesky @offbrandchance.bsky.social or by email at [email protected].


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