Saturday Night Live once again skewered President Donald Trump over his tariffs policy, following on from last week’s “Liberation Day” cold open.
James Austin Johnson returned to Studio 8H at 30 Rockefeller Plaza as the president in an Easter-themed sketch that began with Jesus, played by Mikey Day, casting the moneylenders out of the temple on his arrival in Jerusalem.
The Biblical tableau froze as SNL’s Trump appeared.
“Remind you of anyone?” he said to laughter. “I also got rid of money last week, but instead of one temple, I did a whole country. Maybe even the globe. The money’s gone.”
“Hi, it’s me your favorite president, Donald Jesus Trump, comparing myself to the son of God once again,” Johnson continued.
“Many people are even calling me the Messiah because of the mess I uh made out of the economy because of my beautiful tariffs; they’re so beautiful. They were working so well that I had to stop them.”
He later added: “But now everything is back how it was minus a few trillion dollars. A historic transfer of wealth from the middle classes to my buddies. Oh well!”
LMAOOO, "some people call me the Messiah because of the mess I uh made!" 🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/nXGA9nLXna
— BrooklynDad_Defiant!☮️ (@mmpadellan) April 13, 2025
Johnson then compared the stock market to Jesus: “It died, then on the third day it was risen! And then on the fourth day, it died again, possibly never to return, like Jesus.”
“Jesus Christ is a name we’re saying a lot lately … we look at our 401K and say: ‘Jesus Christ, where did it all go?”
Johnson’s Trump then mocked other cast members, still frozen in their biblical tableau behind him, in an effort to get them to break.
More Easter jokes ensued: “We love Easter, we love bunny, we love hunting for eggs just like everyone’s doing in the grocery store right now because they cost a trillion billion dollars.”
In other topical references, Johnson’s Trump said: “I had my annual physical this week. They said I am in great shape. One of the best shapes… Lump.”
Trump interrupts Jesus’s cleansing of the temple to talk Easter pic.twitter.com/6kpY0xZQre
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) April 13, 2025
Returning to the subject of Easter and his tariffs, SNL Trump said: “But in the holiest of seasons, Easter, let us remember the lesson that Mr. Jesus taught us when he went buck wild on those money changers… We must never mix religion with commerce.”
“You can read all about that in my Trump Bible,” he said to laughter. “Now made in America, so it costs $1,300, and it falls apart even faster.”
Wrapping up the sketch in the traditional manner, Johnson’s Trump allowed the other cast members to unfreeze and join him in the traditional: “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!”
Saturday’s edition of NBC’s flagship entertainment show, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, was hosted by actor Jon Hamm, with musical guest Lizzo.
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