Colin Jost took on the role of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth during Saturday Night Live’s (SNL) March 14 cold open. He then offered questionable navigation tips for the Strait of Hormuz amid rising tensions with Iran.
Colin Jost parodies Pete Hegseth in SNL
The sketch, titled “Trump’s Gas Prices Cold Open,” addressed the Donald Trump administration’s ongoing military engagement with Iran and its impact on Americans at the pump. With gas prices soaring past $5 per gallon, the cold open took a satirical look at the administration’s promises versus reality.
The sketch opened with an American family, aka Mikey Day, Ashley Padilla, Marcello Hernández, and Sarah Sherman, debating whether to fully fill their tank as gas prices climbed. Day insisted they had no choice. Meanwhile, Padilla lamented the $5-per-gallon cost, joking they might need to leave a child behind.
James Austin Johnson’s Trump then interrupted to address viewers directly, acknowledging his broken campaign promises about lowering gas prices and ending wars. He launched into a One Direction parody, singing “You don’t know you’re broke as hell” to the tune of “You Don’t Know You’re Beautiful” for the “Harry Styles fans in the crowd.”
Johnson continued his tradition of roasting frozen cast members. He commented on Hernández still playing child characters and Padilla’s appearance despite her Spanish-sounding last name. Johnson’s Trump then introduced Jost’s Hegseth, who stumbled out of a car filled with empty containers to address concerns about the critical shipping route.
“All you dweebs, stop saying the Strait of Hormuz is closed. It’s wide open,” Colin Jost’s Hegseth declared at SNL, referring to the waterway through which roughly one-quarter of the world’s oil exports pass.
Trump told NBC News that “many countries” would send warships to address attacks in the region, though no nations have publicly confirmed this commitment. Jost’s Hegseth acknowledged floating mines in the water but offered a questionable strategy. He said, “But if you’re an oil tanker and you’re driving it and you see one of the mines, just do what I used to do at every DUI checkpoint: close your eyes and gun it!”
Trump or the White House hasn’t yet commented on the SNL sketch.
