Epstein Files and Kennedy Center Renaming in SNL Cold Open

Key Highlights

• Context: The last SNL episode of the year featured President Trump discussing Jeffrey Epstein.
• Significance: This cold open marked the first mention of Epstein since new files were released and quickly removed.
• Content: Trump’s character humorously commented on his name being added to various landmarks.
• Theme: The segment blended holiday cheer with political satire, referencing both current events and pop culture.

For the last SNL of the year, President Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) got into a festive mood – by talking about Jeffrey Epstein for the umpteenth time.

The cold open wasn’t the first time SNL mentioned Epstein, even in cold opens. But it was the first episode since the recent release of new files pertaining to Epstein on Friday, followed by the quick removal of some of them on Saturday.

Referencing Trump’s Wednesday night primetime address to the nation, Johnson’s Trump showed up to the podium surrounded by Christmas decorations by an ornate fireplace. He discussed the recent renaming of the Kennedy Center to include his own name, and ribbed that it’ll also happen to the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. He said he’s putting his name on so many buildings “because we had to take it off of so many files,” referencing the heavily redacted Epstein files.

“We had so many Trumps in there, we had to put them somewhere,” SNL’s Trump said.

The rambling cold open also mentions Trump’s announcement of the Hunger Games-like Patriot Games, Venezuela, and somehow, the Indigo Girls. But there was time to celebrate the season, too. “I’m doing my own version of Nativity now,” Johnson’s Trump said. “Where kings from the Middle East bring gifts for me like gold and airplane and casino deal in Dubai.”