‘Saturday Night Live’ cold open sparks laughs as Donald Trump tries to keep Elon Musk & Marco Rubio from clashing

After recreating last week's turbulent meeting between US President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, "Saturday Night Live" took another jab at the week’s political headlines, opening its March 8 episode with a satirical sketch depicting a heated Trump cabinet meeting. The cold open reimagined a reported shouting match between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Elon Musk, with Donald Trump attempting to mediate.

James Austin Johnson reprised his role as Trump, while Marcello Hernandez played Rubio and Mike Myers returned to the show to portray Musk.

Trump's inner monologue

As the sketch unfolds, Johnson’s Trump attempts to settle the tension between Rubio and Musk. The scene also provides a humorous look into Trump’s inner thoughts.

“Ah, so boring. This guy can’t stop talking,” Trump thinks as Rubio speaks. He then marvels at his ability to keep a thought to himself, saying, “Whoa. This is a whole new thing. This is crazy. This can save me a lot of trouble. I should do this more often. I won’t, but I should.”

Rubio’s grand plan

At one point, Hernandez’s Rubio tries to assert his political accomplishments, telling Trump, “While Elon’s been causing chaos, I’ve been working behind the scenes and I am very close to a deal with the Panamanian government to retake the Panama Canal.”

Trump, however, appears uninterested. “Eh, I don’t want it anymore. You know, (it) seems like a hassle. What I really love is Thailand. Okay? Because I’ve been watching ‘White Lotus’ and it looks beautiful.”

Musk’s doubts

Myers’ Musk also gets a moment of reflection, as the sketch explores his own doubts about his cabinet role. “Was taking this job a bad idea?” he wonders. “A lot of people seem to really hate me. My Tesla stock is crashing and my personal net worth just dropped by $100 billion dollars.”

Lady Gaga hosts

The episode was hosted by Lady Gaga, who recently released her seventh studio album, "Mayhem." This marks her second time as an "SNL" host and her fifth appearance as a musical guest.

Political satire continues

“SNL” has frequently used its cold open to lampoon major political events, and this week’s skit was no exception. With Trump’s fictionalised cabinet in disarray and the added humour of imagined inner monologues, the show delivered another sharp take on the week’s news.