President Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) paid a surprise visit to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (Ramy Youssef) in tonight’s “Saturday Night Live” cold open.
“What reckless lunatic would travel to see me in this kind of weather?” Youssef’s Mamdani asked at the top of the cold open, before Johnson’s Trump arrived to inform the mayor he had traversed through the El Niño storm to pay a visit to his unlikely pal. “For some reason that no one can figure out, I really, really like you,” the president said.
“Somehow, when I’m with you, I’m just firing on all cylinders,” Trump told Mamdani. “Maybe it’s because we’re both from Queens.” In response, Youssef’s NYC mayor said, “Isn’t it funny to think I could have grown up in one of your apartment buildings?”
“Not with that last name!” Johnson’s president replied. Later, “SNL” star Ashley Padilla made her debut as Trump’s executive assistant, Natalie Harp. Drenched and yet undaunted, Padilla’s Harp warned Youssef’s Mamdani, “If you hurt him, I will end you.”
You can watch tonight’s “SNL” cold open yourself below.
At one point, Johnson’s Trump told Youssef’s Mamdani he took his advice on how to deal with Iran. When the mayor excitedly asked if that meant the president had stated that America needs to “work towards a ceasefire and sustained peace,” Trump replied, “Ooh… I could have sworn you told me to say, ‘I’m going to annihilate you!’”
“Maybe I dreamed it. You’re in most of my dreams. I call you Mamdreamy,” Johnson’s president confessed, continuing, “Anyway, it’s been a crazy week. I kicked out the press and hung out with the President of China. Xi! Xi!”
“It’s getting late. I have important work tomorrow, okay? I have to go to Bushwick and give ketamine to underprivileged bisexuals,” Youssef’s Mamdani cut in, only for Johnson’s Trump to respond, “I don’t know what any of those words mean.”
Before Mamdani could finish rushing Trump out the door, Padilla’s Harp arrived, soaking wet from the storm. “I ran here from D.C. ‘Weapons’-style. I came in case you needed anything because [singing], ‘Baby boy, you’ve been on my mind…,’” she informed Johnson’s Trump, prompting the president to compare her to “the girl from ‘Obsession,’ but blonde.”
Padilla’s Harp responded by, of course, mimicking “Obsession” star Inde Navarette’s oft-memed expressions in that film. (Navarrette, notably, is on deck to host the forthcoming Oct. 31 episode of “SNL.”) Johnson’s Trump subsequently reacted with confusion when Youssef’s Mamdani offered to let him stay longer in exchange for giving New York City “$21 billion for a housing project in Queens.”
“What if I follow you back on Instagram?” the New York City mayor offered, to which the president excitedly replied, “It’s a done deal!”
