Closing out its 50th season, Saturday Night Live once again tapped James Austin Johnson to give his tried and tested cartoonishly accurate portrayal of President Donald Trump, complete with his trademark meandering style of speaking.
Fresh back from his tour of the Middle East, the president continues to provide a deep well of content from which the flagship NBC sketch show can draw inspiration.
Mockingly saying that the president found love in addition to trade deals and alliances on his trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, Johnson appeared alongside Emil Wakim playing Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with the pair calling each other “habibi.”
SNL’s Trump said the pair were “vibing,” and that he was “a big fan of everything that Saudi Arabia has to offer, from the oil to the money to… end of list.”
He continued: “I didn’t make this trip for myself. I want to make that clear. I did this for the American people, and in many ways, myself, my personal enrichment. I did that too.”
Johnson added, referencing the current scandal over the proposed gift of a new Air Force One: “I did very well on this trip, got a lot of cool stuff. The Qataris gave me a $400 million plane. Can you believe that? And people said that was some sort of bribe. Not true, not true because they haven’t asked for anything in return.”
“Well, not yet,” said Wakim’s MBS.
“Alright, so it’s a pre-bribe, it’s a pre-bribe,” responded Johnson, before segueing into the current problems with U.S. air traffic control.
“But now people are saying, I should really be flying in an American plane. No, thanks, sonny. Have you seen what’s going on with our planes? The radar is down, and the screen is blank. Newark!”
He continued by saying that the U.S. had made a big airplane deal with the Saudis, inviting Wakim’s MBS to tell the audience about it.
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“Saudi Arabia will buy $1 billion worth of aircraft from Boeing,” he said.
“Your funeral,” snapped back Johnson’s Trump.
Later, Johnson said: “I’ve had a great trip here in the Middle East. It was very much a boys’ trip. I don’t think I saw a single woman. What’s up with that? Huh? All the time, just walking into a room full of boys. Hi, boys. Boys. Again, the women are all hiding. It’s like a nation of Melanias.”
SNL Trump also made reference to country star Morgan Wallen’s abrupt exit at the end of the March 29 edition of the show. The singer later posted on Instagram: “Get me to God’s Country,” as he departed New York.
Johnson, as Trump, said: “I love the Arabs. I love the Arabs. I don’t want to go home. Let me stay. Get me to Allah’s country. Everyone loves me here. They’re not allowed to not right?”
SNL MBS quipped back: “They have to love you, if not, bye-bye.”
The season finale was hosted by Scarlett Johansson, with musical guest Bad Bunny.
Saturday Night Live returns to NBC’s Studio 8H at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in the fall, or as their Trump put it: “If we still have a country, right? It’s a coin toss. Happy Summer, everyone.”
