SNL cold open mocks Trump over Iran strike: 'Board of peace was bored of peace'

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: NBC’s 'Saturday Night Live' wasted no time diving into the biggest headline of the week as it returned from its Winter Olympics break on Saturday, February 28.

Instead of easing back in, the show opened with a sharp satire of President Donald Trump following the joint US - Israeli strikes on Iran, framing the moment as chaotic, theatrical and politically convenient.

The cold open took the form of a mock late-night presidential address, poking fun at both the timing and the justification of the military action.

Mock World War III greeting by Trump sets the tone

The sketch began with a faux public service announcement noting that Trump addressed the nation at “the very normal time of 2 in the morning,” before cutting to cast member James Austin Johnson in character.

Wearing a white “USA” cap, Johnson’s Trump cheerfully opened with “Good evening, and happy World War III to all who celebrate.”

He jokingly referred to himself as a “FIFA Peace Prize winner and Nobel Peace Prize taker,” immediately setting the tone for exaggerated bravado.

The parody version of Trump claimed he ordered the strike after consulting a fictional “Board of Peace” that had grown “bored of peace,” mocking what critics have called shifting explanations around the operation.

He also joked about long-running warnings regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions, quipping that the country had been “two weeks away” from a weapon for over a decade, so “we had to act now.”

Midway through the sketch, the political satire morphed into a musical number. Johnson sang a parody of War, reworking the famous chorus into “War, what is it good for? Distracting from the Epstein files.”

The impression took aim at campaign messaging, joking that voters were promised no new wars but might get “one foreign war and possibly one civil.”

The humor briefly drifted into pop-culture absurdity, including a nod to Forrest Gump and a quick jab at Star Wars fans before circling back to the real-world escalation.

SNL takes swipe at Iran strike's timing

The sketch suggested the strike’s rollout was conveniently scheduled. Johnson’s Trump claimed it happened after markets closed for the weekend and joked it was designed to throw the SNL writers’ room into panic mode, scrapping whatever political sketch they had originally prepared.

Later, Colin Jost entered portraying Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, delivering an exaggeratedly forceful briefing that included the claim “We took out a horrendous, horrible leader who was oppressing his own people,” referencing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Johnson’s Trump then popped back in with a final warning-style joke saying “But don’t get any ideas!”

“When he said we were going to blow up the leader of Iran, I thought he was kidding”, Jost said as audience cheers.

“We do have a reason for war, it is under my chin, let me get it for you”, Jost adds as audience laughs hysterically.