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White House has reacted to SNL's (Saturday Night Live!) cold open, which mocked Donald Trump and Brendan Carr. A spokesperson dismissed the show and claimed that many Americans don't watch it anymore.
SNL returned with its 51st season on Saturday, October 4, with Bad Bunny as the headliner. During the cold open, James Austin Johnson impersonated Donald Trump, while Colin Jost impersonated Pete Hegseth. In the sketch, Trump interrupts Hegseth to confirm that “SNL” wouldn’t “do anything to mean about me.”
Referring to the new cast on the show, Johnson added:
"‘SNL’ 51 off to a rough start: 17 new cast members and they got the ‘Update’ guy doing the open.”
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The sketch then also took digs at Brendan Carr, the chair of the Federal Communications Commission. Johnson's Trump said that if SNL gets out of hand, they will face trouble from “my attack dog at the FCC, Brandon Carr.”
Mike Day then walks in, impersonating Brendon Carr, and corrects Trump's pronunciation, saying:
“It’s actually Brendan, sir."
Trump replied,
“It’s crazy you think I care. Bye!”
“Remember: Daddy’s watching,” Trump concluded.
Reacting to this sketch, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Entertainment Weekly:
"Reacting to this would require me to waste my time watching it. And like the millions of Americans who have tuned out from SNL, I have more entertaining things to do — like watch paint dry."
You can watch the cold open here.
Bad Bunny headlines SNL after controversy over him headlining 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show
On September 28, Bad Bunny was announced as the headliner for the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show. This has led to some backlash, especially from the conservatives, due to his Puerto Rican heritage and his majorly Spanish songs.
Donald Trump's advisor Corey Lewandowski and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have both claimed that ICE will be present at the show. Noem said in right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson's YouTube video on October 3:
“There will be [ICE at Super Bowl Halftime Show], because the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for keeping it safe, so I have the responsibility for making sure everybody goes to the Super Bowl, has the opportunity to enjoy it and to leave, and that’s what America is about.”
Bad Bunny took digs at these warnings while headlining Saturday Night Live! on Saturday, October 4. He expressed his pride in being chosen to headline the event before saying in Spanish:
“Especially all of the Latinos and Latinas in the world here in the United States who have worked to open doors. It’s more than a win for myself, it’s a win for all of us. Our footprints and our contribution in this country, no one will ever be able to take that away or erase it.”
He then added in English:
"And, if you didn’t understand know what I just said, you have four months to learn!”
The 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show will take place at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on February 8, 2026.
