For its Season 51 finale, Saturday Night Live threw everything at the wall in a shocking, Jeffrey Epstein-filled cold open.
The sketch featured President Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) being visited by the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein, played for the first time by this week’s host, SNL legend Will Ferrell.
When Trump told his old pal that his approval ratings were in the 30s, Ferrell’s Epstein replied, “Oh, the 30s? Gross. Call me when it hits 17.”
The cold open poked fun at the alleged friendship between Trump and the convicted sex trafficker, a topic that SNL has mocked ruthlessly at the “Weekend Update” desk all season.
“Man, we had some fun times together, didn’t we, Donny?“ Epstein mused. ”We should have taken more pictures.”
The sketch ended with the two singing “Just the Two of Us,” by Bill Withers and Grover Washington, Jr.
At one point, it looked like the two were about to kiss, but Epstein playfully turned his head away.
The episode is the show’s last chance until the fall to make fun of the Trump administration, so the cold open used a Christmas Carol-themed format to pay tribute to three of the season’s most iconic impressions: Colin Jost’s Pete Hegseth, Aziz Ansari’s Kash Patel, and Ashley Padilla’s Kristi Noem.
Ferrell’s Epstein showed a vision of the future where Jost and Patel were partying in a bar together.
When Jost started reading a podcast ad promoting “Poland Sprung, the first ever hard water,” Trump took it as a good sign.
“Well, if Pete’s podcasting, I guess that means that the war in Iran is over,” Trump said.
Epstein replied, “Yep, we came in second.”
The cold open also poked fun at Trump’s cankles, which received renewed media scrutiny after the president’s visit to China this week.
Trump’s swollen ankles, combined with the bruising on his hands, have spurred constant health concerns around the 79-year-old president throughout his second term. SNL‘s Trump appeared to share those concerns:
“Boy, are my legs swollen,” Trump said. He pulled a prop leg onto his desk and remarked, “That doesn’t look good at all.”
