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SNL Cold Open Recreates Oval Office Collapse, Hammers Shutdown Fallout

Comedy reframed the week’s viral Oval Office photo as a lens on federal cuts driving travel disruptions.

Overview

  • The Nov. 8 cold open restaged the White House incident where a guest fainted, with James Austin Johnson’s Trump delivering a monologue as others tended to the collapse.
  • The sketch zeroed in on the ongoing shutdown that began Oct. 1, joking about a Supreme Court move that paused a lower-court order to fully reinstate SNAP benefits.
  • Trump’s character claimed grocery prices “plummeted straight up,” then pivoted to holiday travel woes tied to federal actions.
  • FAA traffic reductions at 40 airports led to more than 1,500 flight cancellations and thousands of delays on Saturday, a disruption echoed in the sketch’s Thanksgiving quip that “all the planes are gone.”
  • Johnson’s Trump also mocked Democrats’ election wins, including Zohran Mamdani’s New York City mayoral victory, in an episode hosted by Nikki Glaser with musical guest Sombr.