James Austin Johnson’s President Donald Trump crashed the latest Saturday Night Live cold open to explain why gas prices have risen so much recently.
“The Epstein files!” he shouted. “It’s called Butterfly Effect. Epstein was first domino…” He made the sound effect of dominoes falling over, then shouted, “War!”
The joke referenced the running theory (shared by late-night comedians like Jimmy Kimmel) that Trump has been doing everything he can to distract from his appearances in the Epstein files, including going to war.
In the early morning of Saturday, Feb. 28, Trump—backed by Israeli forces—launched a series of air strikes in Tehran, Iran’s capital city. The ongoing conflict has disrupted the Strait of Hormuz trade route, leading to rapidly rising gas prices.
“Gas prices, which are very high because of war with Iran, which is where they make gas!” SNL‘s Trump said. “I wish someone had told me that.”
Trump was soon joined in the cold open by Colin Jost’s Pete Hegseth.
“It’s great to see you, Mr. President,” SNL‘s Hegseth said. “Before I begin, I just want to thank you sincerely for these beautiful, size 16, Florsheim shoes. They fit me like a glove.”
Referencing the reports that Trump is forcing his officials to wear oversized dress shoes, the camera closed in on Hegseth’s own comically oversized leather Oxfords.
For the third week in a row, SNL‘s Hegseth tried and failed to give a promising update on Trump’s war in Iran:
“All you dweebs, stop saying the Strait of Hormuz is closed,“ Hegseth said. ”It’s wide open.”
He added, “Sure, there’s a bunch of landmines floating in the water. Water mines, I guess. But if you’re an oil tanker and you’re driving it and you see one of the mines, just do what I used to do at every DUI checkpoint: close your eyes and gun it.”
