‘Saturday Night Live’ mocks Trump visit to East Palestine
“Saturday Night Live” targeted former President Trump’s visit to the town in Ohio where a train derailment has sparked environmental and public health concerns in its latest cold open, mocking Trump’s off-the-cuff public speaking style.
“I’m here and I brought hats, cameras and hats,” the fake Trump, played by James Austin Johnson, said at a podium, clad in Trump’s red “Make America Great Again” hat. “Earlier today, a farmer came up to me, big fella, and he said, ‘Sir, we have nothing to eat because our dirt is poison.’ And I said, ‘Well what are you doing eating the dirt? Don’t eat the dirt folks.’ ”
Trump visited East Palestine, Ohio, last week and used the appearance to blast the Biden administration and Democrats for their response to the train derailment in the town. President Biden drew the ire of Republicans after making a surprise visit to Ukraine last week. Republicans criticized Biden for not making a trip to Ohio.
“I had to come here and see these wonderful people who have been abandoned by Biden,” the fake Trump said in the “SNL” skit. “He’s on spring break in Ukraine with his friend Zelensky.”
The sketch comedy show also took aim at Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has been in the crosshairs of Republican criticism for months.
“Who do we blame? We blame Buttigieg,” the fake Trump said in the skit. “This was his responsibility. Unfortunately, he was too busy being a nerd and being gay.”
The sketch also included an appearance by a fake Emily Kohrs, the foreperson on the grand jury in Georgia that was investigating Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election, whose cryptic interviews last week made headlines. Kohrs spent last week in interviews with national outlets, dancing around the questions of whether the grand jury recommended an indictment of Trump.
“Nope, you just want me to ruin the case,” the fake Kohrs said when asked by the fake Trump if he was going to be indicted. “But I guess I can say we’ve been saying your name a lot.”
Kohrs faced criticism for being so public about the grand jury’s activities.
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