Saturday Night Live’s Trump declares himself the messiah in Easter-themed skit: ‘Because of the mess I made’

This Easter-themed Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update episode sketch is a parody of Donald Trump’s recent behavior and public statements. Performed by cast member James Austin Johnson, the skit mocks Trump’s economic policy chaos — especially his tariff flip-flops. The sketch blends religious satire with political commentary, using Easter as a backdrop to exaggerate Trump’s self-aggrandising style and the confusion surrounding his trade decisions.

Trump as Jesus in Easter-themed sketch

Saturday Night Live’s episode featured an Easter special sketch with cast member James Austin Johnson reprising his role as Donald Trump, this time comparing himself to Jesus Christ.

“It’s me, your favorite president, Donald Jesus Trump, comparing myself to the Son of God once again,” Johnson declared, dressed in a blue suit and red tie.

“You know, many people are even calling me the Messiah – because of the mess I, ah, made out of the economy,” he added.

He continued with a mock-sermon about the market’s instability: “The stock market did a Jesus. It died, then on the third day it was risen. And then on a fourth day, it died again, possibly never to return. Just like Jesus.”

Tariff confusion continues

Johnson, in character, mocked the policy reversal, saying: “Or because of my beautiful tariffs – so beautiful – they were working so well that I had to stop them.”

The sketch reflected public confusion over Trump’s shifting economic strategies, particularly his decision to pause most tariffs while intensifying others on China.

SNL mocks Donald Trump’s tariffs u-turn

The SNL segment opened with co-anchor Colin Jost lampooning Donald Trump’s sudden shift on trade policy, following market chaos triggered by new tariffs.

Jost quipped, “Trump spent the past week trying to rescue the economy from the disastrous policies of whoever was president last week.”

The joke referred to Trump’s April 3 tariffs, including a 25% tax on imported vehicles, and the subsequent investor panic that forced the White House to walk back key aspects of the policy. The comment referenced Trump’s abrupt 90-day pause on his “reciprocal” tariff policy after global markets responded negatively to his announcement of sweeping new import duties.

“Whole bottle of medicine”

Co-anchor Michael Che took aim at Trump’s attempt to downplay the economic fallout, parodying the President’s remark that “sometimes you have to take medicine.”

Che responded, “Yeah, but this feels like we took a whole bottle of medicine with a glass of vodka and laid in a warm bath.”

Trump’s “Liberation Day” sparks market panic

On what he dubbed “Liberation Day,” Trump unveiled a raft of new tariffs and vowed reciprocal dollar-for-dollar duties on countries that tax US goods.

But after markets plummeted, Trump backtracked. On April 9, he announced a 90-day pause on some tariffs while sharply increasing duties on Chinese imports to 145%.