President Trump didn’t seem to care that “Saturday Night Live U.K.’s” first-ever opening sketch was spoofing him, since he posted the segment on his Truth Social account Sunday morning with no comment.
As Tina Fey noted in her opening monologue, more than a few American viewers had to work a little to fully comprehend the mix of British accents and unfamiliar cultural references in the new spin-off.
Taking a page from the American show’s custom of opening with a politically-themed sketch, George Fouracres played U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer trying to break the news to U.S. President Donald Trump that he doesn’t want to join the war in Iran. Fouracres, as Starmer, opened the skit sitting at his desk with a framed photo of Trump behind him. As the phone rings, he asks, “Oh, golly! What if Donald shouts at me? What do I say?” speaking to an adviser played by Hammed Animashaun. “Just be yourself, prime minister!” the adviser says. “Yourself is who everyone likes.”
Starmer (who has been described in the British press as a “jellyfish” and “doormat”), immediately hangs up when Trump answers the phone, lamenting: “Oh, sod that scary, scary wonderful president. Why is he so blubber difficult to talk to?”
Starmer’s new Gen Z adviser (played by Jack Shep) appears, calling him “Starmzy,” a play on the U.K. rapper Stormzy.
The Gen Z adviser advises that Starmer should send him a voice note instead of trying to talk with Trump on the phone. Fouracres as Starmer replies: “I’ll try anything, I’ll do anything. Except take a stand.”
“Hi, Donald. I’m afraid I can’t go to war with you, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t be chums,” Fouracres says. “America and Britain have a long, proud tradition of cooperation and nothing can take that away. Remember the good times. Remember D-Day? Remember Live Aid? Remember Iraq? The first week and none of the rest. Remember Helen Baxterdale on ‘Friends’? Remember Hugh Laurie on ‘Friends’? Remember the episode of ‘Friends’ where they all came to London?”
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He continues: “But most importantly, remember the one where Ross and Rachel were on a break? I think that’s perhaps what we need. Not forever, just until you’ve got all this war out of your system. We want different things. I know how badly you want to start World War III, and that’s great. You absolutely do that but we can’t be part of it. You can, however, use the naval bases whenever you want.”
Starmer’s adviser congratulates him and says, “Good work, sir. You did the bare minimum, and that’s all people expect from you.”
Trump has hosted the American version of “Saturday Night Live” twice and frequently criticizes the cold open segments portraying him as “not funny.”
Watch the segment below:
From Variety US