The cost of eggs is undoubtedly rising this Easter thanks to Donald Trump’s tariffs, and James Austin Johnson’s portrayal of the president hilariously overshadowed the holiday in the cold open of “Saturday Night Live.”
Mikey Day took on the role of Jesus Christ in the beginning of Saturday’s new episode, which was hosted by Jon Hamm and featured Lizzo as the musical guest. Just as Jesus lamented the escalating prices of merchants in ancient times, Johnson’s Trump barged in and delivered a comedic monologue addressing the tariffs and the faltering stock market.
“Sound familiar? I also eliminated money last week, but instead of just one temple, I decimated an entire nation. Maybe even the whole world,” Johnson’s Trump quipped. “The money is gone. Hello, it’s me, your beloved president, Donald Jesus Trump, once again likening myself to the son of God. Many people are even calling me the Messiah for the disaster I’ve created in the economy.”
Similar to last weekend, Trump’s tariffs were a prominent topic in this episode of “SNL,” with cast members commenting on Trump’s sudden reversal regarding some of the tariff hikes that had caused a slight recovery in the stock market earlier this week.
“All thanks to my magnificent tariffs. They’re just so exquisite. They were functioning so effectively that I had to halt them,” Johnson’s Trump humorously stated. “It’s true. The stock market experienced a resurrection. It crashed, then on the third day, it rose again. And on the fourth day, it crashed once more. Perhaps never to return, much like Jesus.”
Like many this past week, Trump suggested avoiding a glance at your 401(k): “Jesus Christ is a name we’ve been uttering a lot recently. We look at our 401(k) and exclaim ‘Jesus Christ, where did it all vanish?’ I’m not sure, but we’re going to remedy that. Or perhaps not, we’ll see, either way, it should be quite a spectacle.”
