Elon Musk reacted to a Saturday Night Live skit parodying a tense meeting between Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Musk criticized the portrayal on X, stating, “Humour fails when it lies.” The skit featured caricatures of Trump and his aides confronting Zelensky over the war with Russia, highlighted by absurd sketches, including Musk, played by Mike Myers, wielding a chainsaw and joking about his management style. The real-life meeting aimed to secure U.S. support for Ukraine but ended without resolution, amid interruptions and accusations about gratitude for U.S. aid from Trump and his Vice President, JD Vance.
Billionaire Elon Musk has reacted to a Saturday Night Live (SNL) skit that spoofed the tense meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In response to a clip of the parody shared on X, Musk said, “Humour fails when it lies,” criticizing the show’s depiction of the political discussion.
Humor fails when it lies
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 2, 2025
The SNL sketch, named “Elon Musk’s cold open,” featured Trump (played by James Austin Johnson) and Vice President JD Vance (Bowen Yang) confronting Zelensky (Mikey Day) regarding Ukraine’s conflict with Russia.
A surprise appearance by Tesla CEO Elon Musk was made by SNL veteran Mike Myers, who appeared with a chainsaw and donned a black coat.
The segment opened with Johnson’s Trump introducing himself as the “President and CEO of Gaza Hotel and Casino,” and welcoming Zelensky with, “Welcome to this incredible trap; it’s going to be a big, beautiful trap, and we’re going to attack him very soon for no reason.”
Bowen Yang’s JD Vance chimed in with: “Watch out, ’cause this kitty’s got claws.”
A comedic peak of the skit was when Johnson’s Trump mockingly expressed gratitude to Zelensky for wearing a “casual Star Trek” outfit, saying he loved the series because “there’s no DEI.” He added, “The white guy was the leader, and he bossed around Spock, who I believe was Guatemalan.”
The skit also portrayed Trump suggesting Zelensky apologize to Russian President Vladimir Putin, even implying he should offer his wife as a peace gesture. This prompted a humorous rant from Yang’s JD Vance, who exclaimed at Zelensky for not expressing enough gratitude, saying, “What happened to ‘thank you’? You haven’t said thank you once in the past 15 seconds I’ve been yelling at you!”
Trump’s character continued to be satirized as he rambled off random items, stating: “I have the cards. I have Skip. I have Draw Four. I have Reverse. I have Get Out of Jail Free – the Supreme Court gave me that one. I have Pikachu and Charmander and Charizard. All I’m missing is a Charmeleon.”
The moment that caught Musk’s attention came when Mike Myers, portraying Musk, entered holding a chainsaw and proclaimed, “They’re saying I’m firing people with no cause. But I do have cause. It’s ’cause I feel like it.”
The Real Oval Office Clash
The skit served as a satirical representation of the actual heated meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky that took place last Friday.
Zelensky sought security assurances from the US amid Ukraine’s ongoing war with Russia, while Trump pressed him for concessions to expedite a resolution.
Tension escalated when Vance accused Zelensky of not showing adequate gratitude for US support, despite the Ukrainian President opening the meeting with expressions of thanks. The exchange became more intense as Trump interrupted, telling Zelensky, “Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel.”
The meeting concluded without a resolution. Trump cancelled an anticipated joint news conference and the signing of a minerals agreement, prompting the Ukrainian delegation to leave.