Saturday Night Live parodies President Trump's late-night announcement of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran this weekend. President Trump is played by James Austin Johnson and War Secretary Pete Hegseth by Colin Jost.

Portrayed by James Austin Johnson, Trump appeared in a white “USA” cap and opened, “Good evening, and happy World War III to all who celebrate. It’s me, Donald Trump, FIFA Peace Prize winner and Nobel Peace Prize taker.”

After a two-week hiatus, “Saturday Night Live” returned with a new episode Dec. 6, 2025, with host Melissa McCarthy and musical guest Dijon, marking McCarthy’s sixth time hosting, her first since 2017, and Dijon’s “SNL” debut.

As his monologue went on, Storrie was joined onstage by hockey-star brothers Quinn and Jack Hughes, fresh from the gold medal–winning U.S. men’s hockey team. The team has spent the past week engulfed in backlash after a leaked video showed them partying with FBI Director Kash Patel post-win and laughing as President Donald Trump joked he’d “have to” invite the women to the White House alongside them or he’d “probably be impeached.

SNL ‘s February 28 cold open satirized President Donald Trump following the U.S. and Israel’s attack on Iran. The sketch, featuring James Austin Johnson as Trump, mocked the rationale for the attack and lampooned Trump’s tendency to distract from controversies with dramatic actions.

To close out Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update, Colin Jost introduced the night's final guest: Punch the monkey 's mom. Not literally, of course. It was Sarah Sherman, in a bikini-fitted monkey costume, who portrayed the absentee mama as a trailer-trash harlot.

"SNL" kicked off its latest episode with a timely cold open addressing the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Approaching midterm elections and a growing battle over the party’s post-Trump identity heighten the political stakes of military action.