‘SNL’ mocks Donald Trump’s reaction to Epstein files in cold open

Saturday Night Live didn’t skip its chance to skewer President Donald Trump over the recently released Jeffrey Epstein emails.

The show’s latest cold open kicked off with a press briefing that saw Trump (played by James Austin Johnson) defending himself after the House Oversight Committee this week released emails from the convicted sex offender. Trump’s name appeared several times in the emails, with Epstein at one point writing that the president “knew about the girls.” Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, maintaining that he knew nothing about Epstein’s sex trafficking.

But that wasn’t quite the case in the SNL parody. The sketch begins with Ashley Padilla playing the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who tells a gaggle of reporters that she is excited to “answer your friendly questions.”

She adds, “As you all know, there was no news this week. Nothing happening with the president. No weird information was revealed. No one had any accusations that rhymed with ‘edophile.'”

Alas, the very first question from Chloe Fineman (playing CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins) not only asks about the release of some 20,000 of Epstein’s emails, but prods at why President Trump’s name appeared in so many of them.

“You know you suck, right?” Padilla replied. She added, “The only thing these emails prove is that President Trump did nothing wrong. If anything, his crime was loving too much. And possibly too young.”

Padilla did her best to dodge the next few questions, only for a reporter played by Kenan Thompson to ask, “What does Trump have to hide?”

At this point, Johnson’s Trump took over. “I can answer that,” he began. “I am hiding almost nothing. Just enough to make it extremely suspicious. But let me ask you a question: If there was something incriminating about me in the files, why would I cover them up?”

Thompson, baffled, replied, “Isn’t that exactly why you would cover them up?”

Johnson answered, “If I was innocent, wouldn’t I just release all the files?”

Continuing his nonsensical responses, Johnson’s Trump said, “Jeffrey Epstein, I barely knew the guy, as evidenced by the thousands of pictures of us together dancing and grinding our teeth at various parties, always leering and pointing at something just off camera, probably a book we’re excited to read.”

He also pointed to a memorable quote made earlier this week by Megyn Kelly: “She said Epstein’s not a pedophile,” he reminded the reporters. “Terrific thing to just say out of nowhere. Great job, Megyn.”

Johnson’s Trump then promised to release each of the Epstein files individually “for the low, low price of $800.” Holding up one of the low-resolution email screenshots, he proclaimed, “It makes a great stocking stuffer.”

The Epstein parodying didn’t end there. Later in the night, SNL alum Will Forte reprised his iconic role of MacGruber, his MacGyver-like action hero who is often attempting to escape the blast of a ticking time bomb. This time around, MacGruber is in a race against the clock — at least until he realizes that his escape will facilitate the release of the Epstein files. 

“Talk about explosive,” MacGruber says when his teammates (Fineman and host Glen Powell in mullets) first reveal the files. “For far too long, the rich and powerful have lived by a different set of rules than the rest of us, but it’s time for a reckoning, ’cause no one — and I mean no one — is above the law. Let’s take a look at these bottom-feeders.”

But after glimpsing the papers, MacGruber soon decides that they’re better off just shredding them.

“I’m breaking it up into tiny little pieces, which we can hide in various garbage cans that only we know about,” he nervously explains.

The sketch is split into three parts and by the time the final segment rolls around, the theme song declares, “It’s pretty clear by now MacGruber’s on the Epstein list.”

Epstein, who was convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution in Florida in 2008, was charged with sex trafficking minors and conspiracy to sex traffic minors in New York in 2019. He died by apparent suicide in his jail cell ahead of his trial.

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This week saw the long-awaited release of a collection of emails to and from Epstein, which led to renewed interest in the relationship between the late sex offender and the current president. Though Trump was frequently mentioned, none of the documents showed Epstein directly accusing Trump of any crime.

“These emails prove absolutely absolutely nothing other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong,” White House press secretary Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday.

The House is set to vote this week on releasing the full Epstein files.

Watch SNL tackle the Epstein files in the sketches above.