NBC’s most recent edition of Saturday Night Live crossed the line from satire into straight-up fake news as James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump character confessed to being a sociopath after the recent incident in the Oval Office where a man fainted. Additionally, Johnson claimed to be pleased that the Supreme Court allowed him to “stop feeding poor people.”
After Jeremy Culhane played the part of the fainting man, Johnson appeared and looked totally uninterested in what had just happened, “Oh, hi. Didn’t see you there. Someone was dying in my office. I think I’m playing this very normal. Just stand there and stare like a sociopath. Didn’t even pretend like I was going to help, someone drops something and you do the fake bend, you know, ‘oh, let me help you pick that up, oh, you got it? You got it?’”
The skit is worse when you consider that SNL’s cold opens have a way of convincing people that history did not occur as it actually did. For example, back in 2008, 87 percent of Obama voters believed that Sarah Palin actually said she could see Russia from her house when it was actually SNL’s Tina Fey, impersonating Palin, who said that. The truth is Trump initially did look concerned, but backed away from the crowd surrounding the man because he almost certainly felt that he would be of no help because he is not a doctor and instead chose to just get out of the way.
🚨BREAKING: A pharmaceutical representative collapses during President Trump’s Oval Office announcement, as reporters are swiftly escorted out of the room. pic.twitter.com/RskICBEcJC
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 6, 2025
Nevertheless, Johnson’s Trumpian monologue continued. Later, he recapped Tuesday’s elections, “Can’t believe they elected Mamdani. We like to say, Mamdani. You know, I’m torn because I like a winner, but I’m not crazy about a Muslim. Maybe he’ll convert, right? We’ll put him in line behind Ursha Vance, and I hope I’m pronouncing that wrong.”
Looking for some good news, Johnson added, “But our side had some wins this week, too. Supreme Court said we could stop feeding poor people. You can clap for that. SNAP! SNAP.”
The administration’s argument was that judges should not be in the business of telling it how to spend its limited resources during a government shutdown. Funding SNAP, they argued, would have meant less money for school lunches. However, acknowledging that would not allow Johnson to attack the supposed “darkness” that Trump represents.
Here is a transcript for the November 8 show:
NBC Saturday Night Live
11/8/2025
11:30 PM ET
MIKEY DAY/DAVID RICKS: Hello. I’d like to thank President Trump for having us. Those of us from the pharmaceutical industry are honored to be here today alongside RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz. We’re going to discuss lowering the price of weight loss drugs. For years, my company, Eli Lilly, has been at the forefront of providing Americans with—is he—
ANDREW DISMUKES/ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.: Oh, no!
JAMES AUSTIN JOHNSON/DONALD TRUMP: Oh, hi. Didn’t see you there. Someone was dying in my office. I think I’m playing this very normal. Just stand there and stare like a sociopath. Didn’t even pretend like I was going to help, someone drops something and you do the fake bend, you know, “oh, let me help you pick that up, oh, you got it? You got it?”
…
Can’t believe they elected Mamdani. We like to say, Mamdani. You know, I’m torn because I like a winner, but I’m not crazy about a Muslim. Maybe he’ll convert, right? We’ll put him in line behind Ursha Vance, and I hope I’m pronouncing that wrong. But our side had some wins this week, too. Supreme Court said we could stop feeding poor people. You can clap for that. SNAP! SNAP.
