NEWS'SNL' Sparks Backlash With Donald Trump Assassination Joke and Brutal Epstein Dig
'Saturday Night Live' drew backlash after a Donald Trump joke earned loud applause in the studio.
April 8 2026, Published 5:31 a.m. ET
Saturday Night Live is drawing fresh controversy for pushing its political humor into more controversial territory, with one joke about President Donald Trump drawing both loud laughs and sharp criticism.
The moment came during a Weekend Update segment that tackled a range of political headlines, from the firing of axed Attorney General Pam Bondi to Vice President J.D. Vance’s Catholic faith, but it was co-anchor Michael Che’s punchline about Trump that drew the most public attention.
A Joke That Drew Big Laughs — and Backlash
Michael Che was criticized for using President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination to mock Donald Trump.
“President Trump attended the opening night of ‘Chicago’ at the Kennedy Center, and I think that’s cool that the president is going to the theater,” Che said, before adding, “I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?”
The line, widely interpreted as a reference to President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination at a theater, drew loud cheers and applause from the studio audience. Co-anchor Colin Jost reacted by throwing up his hands in mock shock.
The joke arrived in a particularly sensitive context. Trump faced two assassination attempts during the 2024 campaign, including one in which a bullet grazed his ear at a rally and another in which a gunman was stopped at his Florida golf club.
A Broader Night of Political Satire
Colin Jost opened the segment mocking former Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Beyond the headline-grabbing moment, Jost opened the segment with a jab at Bondi, saying she "was asked to redact herself from her job" — playing on the word 'redact' in reference to the Epstein files scandal — before adding that Trump was upset about her handling of the Epstein files.
Jost quipped that “the only person Trump has trusted to handle the Epstein situation was a prison guard with the cameras off," an apparent reference to the circumstances surrounding Jeffrey Epstein's death in federal custody.
Jost also poked fun at J.D. Vance’s recent book about his Catholic faith, joking that the Church might describe it as “somehow the worst publicity we’ve ever had.”
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The Donald Trump reference quickly became the night’s most debated joke.
The segment didn’t stop there. Jost reacted to Trump’s rhetoric about the Iran conflict with a blunt, “In the spirit of Easter, let me just say: Jesus Christ,” while Che joked about rising gas prices, tying the economic impact to Trump's breezy description of the conflict as a 'little journey.'"
The Fine Line of Late-Night Humor
The segment reignited debate over the limits of late-night satire.
"Weekend Update" has long built its identity around sharp political jokes, but the latest episode highlights how quickly those jokes can spark debate depending on tone and timing.
While audiences in the studio responded enthusiastically, the Trump theater joke in particular underscored the increasingly blurred line between edgy satire and jabs some viewers see as going too far.
