President Trump, played by James Austin Johnson, congratulates “SNL” viewers: “Congratulations to everyone who celebrated, World War III!”
Visual release of Iran attack
The United States has released images purporting to show American warships and aircraft launching attacks against Iran.
The latest “SNL” cold open couldn’t be more timely.
“Saturday Night Live” began its Feb. 28 broadcast with a skit highlighting the news that the United States and Israel had launched military attacks and combat operations against Iran early that day, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
Outside in the cold, James Austin Johnson, playing President Donald Trump, greeted them and declared, “Happy World War III to those celebrating!”
Mr. Johnson’s Mr. Trump went on to say that he launched the attack on Iran because he and his “peace committee decided they were tired of peace” and needed help “to distract from the Epstein file.”
“I know that during my campaign I promised not to start another foreign war,” he said. “But listen, war is plural, right? I’m allowed to do one thing.”
In a meta moment, Johnson’s Trump also hinted that breaking news would require “SNL” to launch a cold open focusing on the president’s State of the Union address earlier in the week.
“People are asking, ‘Why attack Iran now?’ Well, we had to attack early Saturday morning, but that has two military benefits: one, after the stock market closes for the weekend, and two, because it would cause immense fear, anger, and confusion in the ‘SNL’ press room,” he said. “Those guys were crazy. They were probably trying to give a big State of the Union address. No more!”
Colin Jost soon appears as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, sounding confident but declaring, “I’m scared and I don’t know what I’m doing. When he said he was going to blow up the leader of Iran, I thought he was kidding.”
The “SNL” sketch kicked off the show’s first new episode after the show’s nearly month-long hiatus. It was also a return to the typical sketch show format, starting with a parody of Trump. The previous cold opening on January 31, hosted by Alexander Skarsgård, was unusual in that Johnson did not play the president. Instead, former cast member Pete Davidson returned as White House border czar Tom Homan.
Connor Story hosted the Feb. 28 episode of “SNL” following the huge success of “Heated Rivals.” The hockey romance series on HBO Max propelled Story from obscurity to stardom, and the actor made his late-night TV debut in January with an interview on “Late Night With Seth Meyers.”
Mumford & Sons served as musical guests on Story’s “SNL” episode.
Who will be the next “SNL” host?
Saturday’s episode is the first of a new series of “SNL” shows that will air for three consecutive weeks.
Next week’s episode will see the return of host Ryan Gosling for the fourth time, along with musical guests Gorillaz. The following week, on March 14, Harry Styles will double as host and musical guest.
