Since its premiere in 1975, NBC’s Saturday Night Live has been a fixture of popular culture. The show has featured a wide variety of musical guests and celebrity hosts, from reality TV stars to politicians–and has shamelessly poked fun at everyone in between. However, before SNL returned for its 51st season on Saturday, Oct. 4, many viewers wondered if the show would continue with its political jokes amidst a tense atmosphere in late-night television.
On July 17, 2025 The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was canceled by CBS days after the host, an open critic of President Trump, condemned the $16 million settlement CBS’ parent company, Paramount, made with the president. Additionally, on Sept. 17, 2025, following Jimmy Kimmel’s comments about the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Walt Disney-owned ABC indefinitely suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The show returned less than a week later, but the suspension left a bad taste in the mouths of numerous Americans.
SNL is no stranger to mocking and criticizing Trump, but the censorship many accused the administration of, following Colbert and Kimmel’s silencing, had viewers wondering if the show would tone it down this season to avoid potential consequences. So far, this has proven to not be the case.
The opening sketch of the season premiere parodied an address made to military leaders by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, played by Colin Jost, with the performance being interrupted by James Austin Johnson as Trump. Johnson has portrayed the president many times on the show over the past few years, and in this particular sketch he alluded to the controversy with Colbert and Kimmel, saying, “I’m just here, keeping my eye on ‘SNL,’ making sure they don’t do anything mean about me. And they better be careful, because I know late-night TV like the back of my hand.” Further on in the sketch Johnson claimed SNL “better be on their best behavior–otherwise they’ll have to answer to my attack dog at the FCC [Federal Communications Commission], Brendan Carr.”
It’s clear Saturday Night Live isn’t backing down in the face of Trump’s looming power with their jokes and their choice of guests. Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny was the host of the first episode of the season, a man openly against the current administration. In an interview with i-D magazine, the performer addressed his choice to spend this past summer playing a residency in Puerto Rico, and avoid shows in the United States. The singer, when asked if “…this [was] out of concern about [the mass deportations of] Latinos in the United States?” affirmed this and expressed that “…there was the issue of—like…ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
In addressing the news that he will be headlining the Super Bowl LX halftime show in his monologue, Bad Bunny joked that he’s very happy and thinks “everyone is happy about it…even Fox News.” He continued speaking about the performance in Spanish, saying those who love his music across the world are happy, especially the Latinxs who have worked to open doors for the community, and it’s an achievement for more than just himself, as it demonstrates the contribution this group has made for this country that nobody will ever be able to erase.
In terms of government pushback, in a statement to NPR, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said that “reacting to this [the SNL season premiere] would require me to waste my time watching it, and like the millions of Americans who have tuned out from SNL, I have more entertaining things to do — like watch paint dry.” Following the season’s opening episode, Saturday Night Live has continued to mock President Trump, with James Austin Johnson’s impression appearing again during the third episode of the season in the sketch “Boys Podcast.” Although there was initial uncertainty regarding how the show would handle the sensitivity that almost seems required in late-night television right now, it’s been made clear to audiences that SNL will continue as it always has and speak, or joke, freely.
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