SNL cold open mocks Trump indictment as James Austin Johnson’s Donald calls Don Jr. ‘my Kendall Roy’
Saturday Night Live began their April Fool’s episode with a cold open mockery of Donald Trump’s upcoming arrest while joking that “I’ve never seen Melania happier.”
Comedian James Austin Johnson posed as the former president in the skit that mocked Trump’s resistance to his impeachment, his frequent online misspellings and his anger at “radical left Democrats.”
And the sketch also made fun of Trump’s son, Donald Junior, whom he referred to as “my Kendall Roy,” a reference to the bumbling character on HBO’s Succession.
SNL has a long history of parodying the businessman-turned-politician, which led him to repeatedly criticize the show and its “poor ratings.”
Saturday’s episode, which comes just three days before Trump is scheduled to appear in a nearby Manhattan courthouse, began with a “message” from the former president.
SNL kicked off the April Fool’s episode with a cold open that claimed to be a message from Donald Trump
Austin Johnson jokes that the 76-year-old politician is releasing an album called ‘Now That’s What I Call My Legal Defense Fund’
Austin Johnson then launches into a monologue quoting Taylor Swift’s lyrics: ‘Hello, it’s me. I am the problem, I am.
He continues: ‘Well, folks, it happened. They accused me. Or as I spell it indicated.
The joke was a reference to a misspelling Trump made on his Truth Social account Thursday night following news of his indictment over alleged hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels.
“Frankly, it’s time for me to come clean, admit that I broke the law, and calmly go to prison.
‘Day of the Innocents! That was a joke. I was doing a Jim from the office. But make no mistake, what the radical left-wing Democrats are doing to me is worse than any crime I’ve ever committed, and I’ve committed many, close to 34.”
Austin Johnson jokes that the 76-year-old politician is releasing an album called “Now That’s What I Call My Legal Defense Fund.”
The sketch included a nod to the song ‘Justice for All’ recently released by Trump and the J6 Prison Choir to raise funds to support those incarcerated after the January 6 riots at the Capitol.
The comedian joked that he needed his “voters’ money more than ever.”
Soon after, cast member Kenan Thompson joins the stage in the role of Trump-allied boxing promoter Don King, and the duo sing the Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton song ‘Islands in the Stream.’
Mikey Day introduces himself as Don Jr, with Austin Johnson quipping, “And now my most loyal supporter.” I wish he would go away. He is my Kendall Roy’
Actor Kenan Thompson joins the stage in the role of Trump-allied boxing promoter Don King, and the duo sing the Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton song ‘Islands in the Stream.’
SNL joked that Trump has ‘never seen Melania happier’ as she faces imprisonment
Later, Mikey Day is introduced as Don Jr, and Austin Johnson quips, “And now my most loyal supporter.” I wish he would go away. He is my Kendall Roy.
Kendall Roy is the name of the second oldest child in the Roy family in the black comedy Succession.
The character, played by actor Jeremy Strong, is hugely ambitious and yearns for his father’s approval.
Together, the duo sing ‘Boy’s a Liar’ by Ice Spice and British singer PinkPantheress.
The joke comes after the real Don Jr went on an aggressive media campaign criticizing the accusation against his father.
He received the news minutes before going on the air for his Rumble podcast ‘Triggered with Donald Trump Jr’ on Thursday night.
At the time, he criticized the “crazed weaponry of the entire federal government against political enemies” and called his father’s accusation “communist-level bullshit.”
The allegations facing Trump center on a secret payment of $130,000 made by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, to Daniels, 44, during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump faces 34 counts and will be arraigned in Manhattan at 2:15 p.m. Tuesday.
He has always denied having an affair with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
But the case haunted him during his time in office after triggering a federal investigation.
SNL has parodied Trump many times over the years. The most famous actor, Alec Baldwin, often took over the role.
The sketch gave a nod to a song released by the former president and the J6 prison choir.
Trump introduced the show twice in 2004 and again in 2015.
But he grew to despise the show as he became increasingly critical of his time in office.
In 2022, he wrote: ‘I hosted once and the ratings were HUGE! Now, however, the ratings are lower than ever, and the show will likely be put on hiatus.
“It’s just not, at these levels, sustainable: a bad show that’s not funny or smart.”
He added: “Once good, never great, but now like the Late Night Losers who have lost their audience but have no idea why.”