The March 30 cold open on “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) mocked former President Donald Trump’s use of Christianity to gain supporters. The SNL cold open lampooned Trump’s promotion of the God Bless the USA Bible, the fact he has compared himself to Jesus, and his lack of knowledge about the Christian faith.
The sketch began with some introductory text appearing over various images of Jesus Christ and his crucifixion before the shot switched to the set where three actors portrayed the women who waited at Jesus’ tomb.
After a joke about how too many of them were named “Mary,” they expressed shock as the stone started rolling away. One asked, “Is it Jesus?” In response, President Trump, played by James Austin Johnson, came out of the tomb, answering, “Basically, yes.”
“Happy Easter, everybody!” he said. “As it was stated in the Bible, guess who’s back, back again? Shady’s back.” He then dismissed the “girls,” telling them they have “no more lines. You did great. Bye bye.”
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SNL Cold Open Skewers Trump
“That’s right, it’s Easter! The time of year when I compare myself to Jesus Christ,” said Johnson as Trump. “That’s just a thing I do now, and people seem to be ok with it. I’m gonna keep doing it.”
This part of the sketch references March 25, the first day of Holy Week, when Trump shared a message from one of his supporters. That person told him, “It’s ironic that Christ walked through His greatest persecution the very week they are trying to steal your property from you,” an allusion to a $175 million bond Trump is facing for real estate fraud.
The former president also copied and posted Psalm 109:3-8, a Bible passage his supporter had sent him.
On Easter Sunday (notably after the SNL cold open), Trump posted on Truth Social an article from the Washington Times titled, “The Crucifixion of Donald Trump,” which explicitly drew parallels between his life and the life of Jesus.
