'SNL' returns with another Trump Cold Open

The Preisdent addresses the nation.
 By 
Chance Townsend
 on 
James Austin Johnson dressed as Donald Trump
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Saturday Night Live returned from its winter break and rang in the new year with what’s quickly become a familiar tradition now that Donald Trump is president again: letting James Austin Johnson suit up as Trump and riff on the absurd — and often deeply troubling — actions coming out of the White House since the show last aired.

As the saying goes, reality is stranger than fiction, and after a brief hiatus, the writers clearly had a lot of ground to cover. This time, Johnson wasn’t alone. He was joined by a full cabinet of “curiosities” and “little freaks,” including JD Vance (played by Jeremy Culhane), Marco Rubio (Marcello Hernández), Kristi Noem (Ashley Padilla), and Pete Hegseth (Colin Jost).

The sketch bounced rapidly from topic to topic, skewering everything from the (probably illegal) abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to ICE’s presence in Minnesota. It also found time for digs at rumors about Vance wearing eyeliner and increasingly pointed jokes about Trump’s deteriorating mental health.

Topics SNL Donald Trump

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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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