The White House fired back at Saturday Night Live after the show’s Season 51 premiere mocked President Donald Trump’s crusade against late-night television. The show opened with James Austin Johnson’s Trump warning the cast to stay on their “best behavior.” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson reportedly wasn’t amused by the sketch.
Bad Bunny hosted the episode, but the administration’s anger targeted the cold open, not the Puerto Rican superstar. Quite frankly, Jackson not targeting the musician is a huge front-page moment in itself, especially considering the current political climate surrounding BB’s Super Bowl Halftime show.
White House Spokeswoman Slams SNL’s Donald Trump Spoof, Not at Bad Bunny
The Season 51 cold open featured Trump interrupting a Pete Hegseth sketch to threaten SNL cast members. Johnson’s Trump warned them not to go too far with jokes or face consequences.
BREAKING: SNL tore apart Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth in last night’s cold open. This is exactly the kind of satire Trump wants Brendan Carr to go after. SNL is not caving in the face of this Administration’s attack on free speech. pic.twitter.com/O2WEeveXq4
— Trump Lie Tracker (@MAGALieTracker) October 5, 2025
The sketch also introduced Mikey Day as FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, Trump’s “attack dog” tasked with reining in the show. Day’s Carr entered dancing creepily to “Somebody’s Watching Me” by Rockwell.
“Reacting to this would require me to waste my time watching it,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, who didn’t connect equally with the Trump mimicry, told EW via email. “And like the millions of Americans who have tuned out from SNL, I have more entertaining things to do – like watch paint dry.”
The sarcastic clapback showed Jackson was upset, though she said the White House didn’t care. Her reply has since turned viral online.
For those unversed, Bad Bunny hosted the show but did not participate in the Trump sketch at all. But he talked about the Super Bowl drama in his monologue.
Despite that, the White House spokeswoman didn’t mention the musician in her statement. The outspoken Trump critic stayed clear of the political cold open entirely.
Fans Deliver Mixed Reviews on SNL’s Trump Sketch
Like Jackson, viewers split on the cold open’s effectiveness. The majority of the folks found it stale. Quite frankly, social media reaction skewed negative from middle-ground observers.
One fan wrote, “From the middle’s perspective, it was pretty lame. The whole Trump cold opens are getting old. SNL is on its last leg.”
Another frustrated fan asked, “Wow, when does the funny begin?…”
The third claimed, “SNL is still not funny.”
The fourth one shared, “No on watches. Will be canceled soon.”
A fifth user added, “Yep, new season, still hot garbage. The left can’t meme.”
A random X user shared, “Thats why no one watches. Its hard to be self righteous and funny at the same time.😉”
The criticism echoed complaints about SNL’s Trump-heavy material since 2016. Fatigue actually set in years ago for casual viewers. Regular fans still watch it, but most other people who found it too repetitive have stopped.
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