SNL cold open mocks Trump indictment as James Austin Johnson’s Donald calls Don Jr. ‘my Kendall Roy’

Saturday Night Live kicked off its April Fool’s episode with a cold open spoofing Donald Trump’s upcoming arrest as they joked he’d ‘never seen Melania happier.’

Comedian James Austin Johnson impersonated the former President in the skit which poked fun at Trump’s resistance to his indictment, his frequent spelling errors online and his anger at the ‘radical left Democrats.’ 

And the sketch also mocked Trump’s son Donald Junior whom he referred to as ‘my Kendall Roy’ – a reference to the bumbling character from HBO series Succession.

SNL has a long history of parodying the entrepreneur-turned-politician, prompting him to repeatedly hit out at the show and its ‘low ratings’. 

Saturday’s episode which comes just three days before Trump is to report to a nearby Manhattan court, began with a ‘message’ from the former president.

SNL kicked off its April Fool’s episode with a cold open claiming to be a message from Donald Trump

Austin Johnson goes onto joke that the 76-year-old politician is launching an album called ‘Now that’s what I call my legal defense fund’

Austin Johnson then launches into a monologue by quoting the Taylor Swift lyrics: ‘Hi, it’s me. I’m the problem, it’s me.’ 

He continues: ‘Well folks it happened. I got indicted. Or as I spell it indicated.’

The joke was a reference to a spelling error Trump made on his Truth Social account Thursday evening following the news of his indictment over alleged hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels.

‘Frankly, it’s time that I come clean, admit that I broke the law, and go quietly to prison.

‘April fools! That was a prank. I was doing a Jim from office. But make no mistake, what the radical left Democrats are doing to me is worse than any crime I’ve ever committed, and I’ve committed a lot, close to 34.’

Austin Johnson goes onto joke that the 76-year-old politician is launching an album called ‘Now that’s what I call my legal defense fund.’

The skit included a nod to the ‘Justice for All song’ recently released by Trump and the J6 Prison Choir to raise funds to support those locked up after the January 6 riots on Capitol Hill.

The comedian joked he needed his voter’s ‘money more than ever.’

Shortly afterwards cast member Kenan Thompson joins the stage in character as Trump’s ally boxing promoter Don King and the duo sing the Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton song ‘Islands in the Stream.’

Mikey Day is introduced as Don Jr, with Austin Johnson joking: ‘And now my most loyal supporter. I wish he’d go away. He’s my Kendall Roy’

Actor Kenan Thompson joins the stage in character as Trump’s ally boxing promoter Don King and the duo sing the Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton song ‘Islands in the Stream’

SNL joked Trump had ‘never seen Melania happier’ as he faces imprisonment

Later Mikey Day is introduced as Don Jr, with Austin Johnson joking: ‘And now my most loyal supporter. I wish he’d go away. He’s my Kendall Roy.’

Kendall Roy is the name of the second-oldest son in the Roy family in the dark comedy Succession.

The character – portrayed by actor Jeremy Strong – is hugely ambitious and longs for the approval of his father. 

Together the duo sing ‘Boy’s a liar’ by Ice Spice and British singer PinkPantheress. 

The quip comes after the real Don Jr went on an aggressive media campaign slamming the indictment against his father. 

He received the news minutes before going on air for his Rumble podcast ‘Triggered with Donald Trump Jr’ on Thursday night. 

At the time he slammed the ‘crazed weaponization of the entire federal government against political enemies’ – calling his father’s indictment ‘communist level s***.’

The allegations facing Trump center around a $130,000 hush money payment made by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, to Daniels, 44, during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Trump is facing 34 charges and will be arraigned in Manhattan at 2.15pm on Tuesday.

He has always denied having an affair with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

But the case dogged him throughout his time in office after triggering a federal investigation.

SNL has parodied Trump many times over the years. Most famously actor Alec Baldwin would often take on the role. 

The skit made a nod to a song released by the former president and the J6 Prison Choir

Trump hosted the show twice in 2004 and again in 2015. 

But he grew disdainful of the show as it became increasingly critical of his time in office.

In 2022, he wrote: ‘I once hosted and the ratings were HUUUGE! Now, however, the ratings are lower than ever before, and the show will probably be put to rest.

‘It is just not, at these levels, sustainable—A bad show that’s not funny or smart.’

He added: ‘It was once good, never great, but now, like the Late Night Losers who have lost their audience but have no idea why.’