“Saturday Night Live” lampooned President Trump’s visit to the Middle East in the cold opening of its 50th season finale, mocking it as a lovefest between him and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“Everybody loves me here. They’re not allowed to not, right?” the “SNL” Trump, played by James Austin Johnson, quipped.
“The women are all hiding. It’s like a nation of Melanias.”
Last week, Trump embarked on his first foreign trip of his second term aside from his attendance at Pope Francis’ funeral, swinging through Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
One notable allied nation that Trump skipped was Israel, which SNL made sure to highlight.
“Much like God did during Passover, I skipped Israel,” Johnson as Trump joked.
“SNL” also delved into the controversy of Trump mulling the possibility of accepting a $400 million Qatari “flying palace” aircraft to replace aged Air Force One for the remainder of his presidency.
Trump has taken heat from all sides over concerns that accepting the plane could amount to a foreign bribe of the US and fears about Qatar’s past ties to terrorist groups such as Hamas.
There are also security concerns about Trump flying in a Qatari jumbo jet while waiting for Boeing to finish its significantly delayed production of the next generation Air Force One planes. Qatar has seemingly been trying to get into America’s better graces.
“I didn’t make this trip for myself,” the “SNL” Trump quipped. “I want to make that clear. I did this for the American people and in many ways, myself, my personal enrichment. I did that, too. I did very well on this trip.
“Got a lot of cool stuff. The Qataris gave me a $400 million plane, can you believe that? And people said that was some sort of bribe. Not true, not true, because they haven’t asked for anything in return,” Johnson’s Trump said.
“SNL” Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, played by Emil Wakim, shot back, “Well, not yet,” prompting Johnson’s Trump to dub it a “pre-bribe.”
The NBC show also ripped into the quality, or lack thereof, of American planes, alluding to Boeing’s troubles.
Wakim’s bin Salman joked about the Saudis purchasing Boeing planes.
“Your funeral,” Johnson’s Trump said of the move.
Later, the “SNL” version of the crown prince pleaded with Trump to stay in Saudi Arabia.
“Donald, please stay, build a palace next to mine and stay,” he said.
This led to Johnson’s Trump breaking the fourth wall to tell the audience that it’s “SNL finale season 50, worst one yet.”
He lamented that the audience won’t “be seeing me here for a while.
“Well, not the fake fun version of me that makes you smile. The real one will still be omnipresent. You can’t escape me, right? I’m everywhere, even in your dreams,” he said.
