@Tweetskoor Published March 15, 2026, 10:23 a.m. ET
Gas prices are through the roof, the world might be at war, and somehow Timothée Chalamet is involved. Saturday Night Live’s March 14 cold open tackles it all, with James Austin Johnson’s Trump blaming Iran, ballet, and literally everything else for your $100 gas bill.
The episode opened at a gas station, where a frozen family of four stared in shock at the cost of filling up. Johnson’s Trump stepped in with his signature smug grin:
“Hi, it’s me, Donald Trump,” he said. “You might remember me from such campaign promises as ‘lower gas prices’ and ‘no more wars.’ Psych! We love to make promises, because a promise is just a lie that hasn’t happened yet. But now it has, and gas costs like a million, billion dollars a gallon.”
He blamed the soaring cost of fuel on “war with Iran, which is where they make gas. I wish someone had told me that,” and dropped a nod to that night’s host: “The stock market is going in one direction: Down.”
Then came the pop-culture burn: Trump referenced Timothée Chalamet’s controversial comment that “no one cares about” ballet or opera. “We will win this war because Iran is old and nobody likes them,” he said. “Iran is like ballet and opera, and we’re Timmy Chalamet.”
The chaos continued with Colin Jost appearing as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, stepping out of the back seat of the family’s car while beer cans tumbled to the ground.
“If you’re wondering why I was in the back seat of this random family’s car, I’ll tell you the same thing I say when people ask about our plans for Iran: I don’t know,” Jost’s Hegseth said. He also complained about media coverage: “The media is using what I do and say to make me look like a fool.”
Harry Styles pulled double duty that night, hosting and performing — something he hadn’t done on SNL since 2019.
The show has leaned heavily into the U.S.–Iran conflict in recent weeks. On February 28, the cold open aired the same day the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran, prompting Johnson’s Trump to joke that the operation was meant to “cause immeasurable fear, rage and chaos in the ‘SNL’ writer’s room.” Last week, Jost’s Hegseth declared: “We’re treating Iran like the breathalyzer in my car and blowing it the hell up.”
SNL will return with new episodes on April 4, when Jack Black hosts and Jack White serves as musical guest.
