Saturday Night Live‘s April 11 cold open found President Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) dialing a few other people who’ve made headlines this week. But not before he conferred with his press secretary, Karoline Leavitt (Ashley Padilla).
“I think I’ll start with ‘Open the f—ing strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in hell, and then at then at the end maybe throw in, ‘Praise be to Allah,'” Johnson’s Trump dictated to Leavitt, directly quoting President Trump’s real Easter Sunday message on Truth Social.
“It’s a sarcastic attack on the world’s largest religion. They famously have a great sense of humor about that kinda stuff,” he told Leavitt when she asked if he really wanted to say that.
“As your press secretary this puts me in a tough position,” Padilla’s Leavitt told him.
“Oh don’t worry about that, Karoline. Like I said to Pam Bondi and Kristi Noem right before I fired them: You’re doing a terrific job,” Trump replied.
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James Austin Johnson’s Trump broke the fourth wall to joke about Ashley Padilla
James Austin Johnson holding a phone as Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live.
“All three of those were played by Ashley, it’s an interesting detail,” Johnson joked in an aside before snapping back to the matter at hand: Making calls.
First up, Tiger Woods (Kenan Thompson). The golfer re-explained to Trump that he’d flipped his SUV in a Florida crash that led to a DUI, and then told police on site that he was on the phone with the president himself.
“Oh right, a DUI. As in DUI drive on pills? Yes we do,” Trump joked, before hanging up on Woods upon learning he wouldn’t be available for a golf game.
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Chloe Fineman returned as Melania Trump to explain that Epstein conference
“Melania, you’re calling me? That’s not a good sign,” Trump said when his wife (Chloe Fineman) rang next.
“Listen I decided I should do a big, random speech completely out of nowhere and say ‘No, I am not Epstein victim. Is that good?” she asked, referring to the First Lady’s April 9 statement. She soon shares more ideas, like “I, Melania Trump, in no way helped out the Gilgo Beach serial killer” and, “I barely partied with Diddy.”
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In addition to returning Season 50 performers including Ashley Padilla, James Austin Johnson, and longest-running cast member Kenan Thompson, the show welcomed five new Featured Players for Season 51 in October 2025: Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Ben Marshall, Kam Patterson, and Veronika Slowikowska.
The season’s Hosts have included a mix of returning fan favorites like Amy Poehler and Melissa McCarthy as well as first-timers like former Sabrina Carpenter in a double-duty turn and actor Josh O’Connor. Stream sketches from every single episode of SNL on Peacock anytime.
Colin Jost’s Pete Hegseth talks restarting the draft for the Iran War
Colin Jost standing behind a podium and flags.
“Rest assured sir, Iran is as obliterated as I am every Saturday night allegedly,” Pete Hegseth told Trump when he got the call, insisting the U.S. has “purpled every single nurple.”
“You also probably heard that I want to start the draft again, which is a great sign for the ceasefire,” he continued, adding, “Except this time, we’re letting 40-year-olds join the military.” The U.S. Army announced it would raise the enlistment cap to 42 in March 2026.
Of the failed April 11 negotiations JD Vance attempted with Iran, Trump told Hegseth, “After those Iranians spent 20 hours talking to JD they said, ‘please sir, go back to bombing us.”
Watch “Trump Making Calls Cold Open” above, and stream every episode of Saturday Night Live on Peacock anytime.
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