White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson has issued a response following Saturday Night Live’s (SNL) Season 51 premiere. The long-running NBC comedy series opened its new season with a sketch mocking President Donald Trump and FCC Chair Brendan Carr. The parody prompted a sharp reaction from the administration hours after the episode aired.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson responds to SNL Season 51 premiere
The White House responded to NBC’s Saturday Night Live after its Season 51 premiere on October 4 mocked President Donald Trump and FCC Chair Brendan Carr. “Reacting to this would require me to waste my time watching it,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Entertainment Weekly. “And like the millions of Americans who have tuned out from SNL, I have more entertaining things to do — like watch paint dry.”
The premiere featured James Austin Johnson reprising his role as Trump, interrupting the cold open to claim he could cancel SNL if it became too critical. “I’m just here keeping my eye on SNL. Making sure they don’t do anything too mean about me,” Johnson said, before warning, “They better be on their best behavior, otherwise they’re going to have to answer to my attack dog at the FCC, Brendan Carr.”
The sketch referenced Trump’s ongoing criticism of late-night comedy. Over the past months, he celebrated the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and commented on Jimmy Kimmel’s temporary suspension from ABC after remarks about conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Trump’s appointee, Carr, previously called Kimmel’s comments “truly sick” and warned that ABC’s license could be at risk.
Hosted by Bad Bunny with Doja Cat, the episode joked about his upcoming Super Bowl halftime show. It also included a parody of political controversies surrounding entertainment media. The opening scene showed Colin Jost as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth before Johnson’s Trump interrupted, declaring, “Daddy’s watching.”
NBC declined to comment on the White House’s response. Saturday Night Live has repeatedly featured Trump parodies since his 2024 campaign, often prompting reactions from his administration and supporters.
