“Saturday Night Live” took aim at former President Trump on Saturday, featuring an impersonation of Trump comparing himself to Jesus in the wake of the former president’s arraignment last week.
The impersonated Trump, played by James Austin Johnson, mocked Trump ahead of Easter Sunday for claiming that he is innocent amid his multiple investigations.
The parody opens with a set of SNL cast members dressed up as Jesus and his apostles during the Last Supper. Cast member Mikey Day, dressed up as Jesus says, “It is foretold though I have committed no crime, I will be arrested, tried and found guilty.”
The fake Trump then enters the scene, asking, “Sound familiar?”
“A famous, wonderful man arrested for no reason at all. If you haven’t put it together, folks, I’m comparing myself to Jesus again, and what better time than on his birthday, Easter,” he continued. “As we speak, I am being persecuted on a level the likes of which the world has never seen — even worse, even worse than the late, great Jesus.”
He went on to say that “many people are saying” that Trump and Jesus are similar: “We’re both very tall, very popular. And both, frankly, white Americans.”
“He had a good mind for business. Water into wine — pure profit. And he had big, big rallies just like me and a lot of his followers got in big, big trouble, just like mine,” he continued. “All because I told them exactly what Jesus would have said, ‘Get very violent and start a war.'”
This SNL skit followed the former president’s arraignment last week, where he was charged with 34 felony counts in connection to hush-money payments made to adult-film star Stormy Daniels to cover up an alleged affair.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) stopped by a protest ahead of his arraignment in Manhattan last week, comparing Trump to Jesus.
“Trump is joining some of the most incredible people in history being arrested today. Nelson Mandela was arrested, served time in prison. Jesus — Jesus was arrested and murdered by the Roman government,” Greene told Right Side Broadcasting host Brian Glenn.
The skit also poked fun at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who Trump has repeatedly attacked in recent months as the governor mulls a potential challenge to the former president. Austin Johnson as Trump mocked DeSantis asking him for an endorsement “with tears in his eyes.”
“I’ve even got my very own Judas, Ron DeSantis,” he joked. “Ron DeSantis came to me tears in his eyes. He said, ‘Help me Mr. Trump. I’m gonna lose my election.’ So I very generously pretended to like him. And then he did a Judas and now he can’t even get the gays out of Disney World.”
DeSantis has been fighting with Disney World after the company criticized the state’s so-called Don’t Say Gay law to limit discussion of sexual orientation and gender in schools. He is aiming to strip Disney of power it had for more than 50 years to control its self-governing district, but the company used a legal loophole last month to undercut DeSantis’s efforts.