‘SNL’ roasts Trump tariffs in Easter Cold Open: ‘Stock market did a Jesus’

by | Apr 13, 2025 | The Hill

“Saturday Night Live” mocked President Trump’s tariffs in its Easter-themed Cold Open, saying the U.S. stock market “did a Jesus.”

The opening scene was a spoof on the “Cleansing of the Temple,” where Jesus, played by Mikey Day, said he would rid Jerusalem’s temple of “all its money.”

Trump, played by James Austin Johnson, appeared on stage and said, “The money’s gone.”

“It’s me, your favorite president, Donald Jesus Trump, comparing myself to the son of God once again,” Johnson’s Trump said. “You know, many people are even calling me the Messiah because of the mess I uh made out of the economy.”

Johnson, as Trump, said the tariffs were working so well he had to stop them and said Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney sought to strike a deal with the U.S.

“I said, let me cook, and then I burned dinner badly so we had to stop,” he said. “But now, everything is back exactly how it was, minus a few trillion dollars and a historic transfer of wealth from the middle class to my buddies.”

“Oh well. It’s true,” Johnson continued. “The stock market did a Jesus. It died, then on the third day it was risen, and then on the fourth day it died again, possibly never to return, just like Jesus.”

The stock market fluctuated last week as Trump’s international tariff plan went into effect.

All three major stock indexes lost a significant portion of gains later in the week from a Wednesday rise, which came after Trump decided to implement a pause on the sweeping reciprocal tariffs.

The announcement brought some stability to the market, but after Trump pushed higher tariffs on China, stocks and bonds reversed much of their gains.

During the “SNL” skit, Johnson, playing Trump, said ahead of Easter, people have been saying “Jesus Christ” a lot.

“Jesus Christ is the name we’ve been saying a lot lately. We’re saying it a lot. We look at our 401K and say ‘Jesus Christ where did it all go?’” Johnson said. “I don’t know but we’re gonna fix that. Or not. We’ll see. Should be interesting.”

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