‘Saturday Night Live’ Mocks Trump’s Visit To East Palestine Chemical Spill Site

This weekend’s Saturday Night Live cold open sketch saw former President Donald Trump mocked for his recent visit to East Palestine, where a Nortfolk Southern train derailment released approximately 100,000 gallons of toxic chemicals into the nearby air and water.

Star cast member James Austin Johnson played Trump and mimicked a press conference the former president held to check in on the residents following the disaster – but not before mispronouncing East Palestine as the state of Palestine.

In the beginning of the skit, Johnson relayed an encounter with a hungry farmer who Trump had met earlier that day. Rather than addressing the farmer’s concerns about the poisoned dirt, however, Johnson’s Trump recommended that he eat some cold McDonald’s and drink Trump-branded water.

Trump’s recent criticism of Rihanna and her Super Bowl halftime show on Truth Social, in which he criticized the lack of movement and said she had no musical talent, also made it into Johnson’s rambling speech.

“I was looking at your river and it’s so shiny. I’ve never seen water so beautiful,” he cooed. “Beautiful rainbows and discolorations, it’s great. It’s wearing makeup. Fenty beauty water. Fenty by Rihanna. Rihanna. By the way, you know she was pregnant doing Super Bowl, can you believe that? I said of course she is, she’s not moving at all. It was just arms, right?”

Johnson’s Trump then blamed the train wreck and environmental crisis on Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who he said was too busy “being a nerd and being gay” to care.

The conclusion of the sketch saw a special appearance from Chloe Fineman, who played Georgia grand jury foreman and prosecutor Emily Kohrs. She would not admit whether Trump was indicted but alleged that his name has surfaced repeatedly in conversations.

“She’s an odd duck but we like her. She’s either seven or 40, we can’t tell,” Johnson’s Trump said. “And she’s got a very big secret for such a kooky little lady.”