Colin Jost Takes Brutal Swipe at Trump Goons Over Travel Nightmare
The “SNL” star wasn’t buying the administration’s explanation for the nationwide flight meltdown.
Colin Jost and Michael Che took aim at President Donald Trump’s transportation secretary over his response to the nationwide flight groundings.
Sean Duffy, a former reality TV star, said at a press conference Saturday morning that the crisis stemmed from botched “routine” maintenance work, inexplicably scheduled for peak travel time on Friday afternoon.

Colin Jost behind the "Weekend Update" desk on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026.
NBC
“The scary thing by far about all these flights getting grounded was the messaging from the normally dependable Trump administration,” Jost joked.
“First, they said it was a telecommunications outage ‘as of now,’” Jost said. “Why add ‘as of now’? No one wants to hear, ‘Your child is safe—as of now.’”
ADVERTISEMENT
Jost added, “Sean Duffy said the whole situation was the result of a contractor upgrading copper wire to fiber optic cable. So one guy switched out one wire and took out all planes? I think that’s literally a scene from the movie Airplane!”
Co-anchor Michael Che poked fun at Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin for his press conference on the flight groundings:
Sign Up for Our Obsessed Newsletter
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
“DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin tried to calm fears by saying this is not a 9/11,” Che said. “Which he knew because Rudy Giuliani didn’t see his shadow.”
Jost found a bright side in the situation, joking that the Staten Island ferry he infamously bought with Pete Davidson was suddenly looking like a “pretty reliable” mode of transportation.

NBC
Jost added that Nvidia ex-CEO Jensen Huang was probably thrilled about the airline chaos taking him out of the news cycle.
He also explained to viewers why Huang’s sex scandal was more important than the usual extramarital affair:
“Nvidia’s chips are powering the AI boom that is propping up the entire U.S. economy,” Jost said. “Which means Jensen Huang had a midlife crisis so bad you might lose your house in his divorce.”

SNL, Colin Jost on Nvidia scandal
NBC
Jost noted how Trump claimed to have no knowledge of Huang’s affair, even though The New York Times reported that he was briefed on it in May of this year.
“So this concludes yet another game of ‘dementia or lying?’” Jost said. “And as it turns out it, was a trick question: It’s always both.”
Obsessed with pop culture and entertainment? Follow us on Substack and YouTube for even more coverage.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
- Account (completed)
- Payment (completed)
- Confirmation (completed)
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
- 1Account
- 2Payment
- 3Confirmation

