- SNL opened with a spoof of a President Trump Air Force One press conference.
- The cold open lampooned US policy toward Venezuela with the line: “We’re doing pirate now!”
- The sketch aired as the show’s opening and used the familiar trappings of a presidential briefing to satirize rhetoric and style.
H2: What happened in the cold open
Saturday Night Live’s cold open kicked off with a mock Air Force One press conference that lampooned President Trump and his approach to Venezuela. The sketch staged a familiar White House-style briefing on the jet, then subverted expectations with a mix of theatrical posturing and an absurd policy declaration: “We’re doing pirate now!” The line landed as the central joke and defined the sketch’s tone.
The brief scene relied on visual cues — a presidential lectern, the cabin backdrop and reporters craning to be heard — to recreate the high-stakes setting. From there, SNL used exaggeration and quick gags to highlight how theatrical rhetoric can sound when applied to foreign policy.
H3: Tone and targets of the satire
The parody focused on style as much as substance. Instead of a detailed policy debate, the sketch skewered performative bravado. By collapsing a complex geopolitical issue into a single outlandish catchphrase, SNL aimed to draw attention to the spectacle of political communications. The cold open’s humor comes from the disconnect between the gravity of international affairs and the comic escalation of the president’s comments.
H3: How viewers saw it
The sketch was designed for immediate impact — short, sharp and shareable on social platforms. Viewers familiar with SNL’s tradition of opening with topical political sketches likely recognized the pattern: a rapid setup, a pointed punchline and a visual flourish that makes for easy clips.
H2: Why this matters
Cold opens are SNL’s most visible space for political satire. They set the week’s tone and often lead conversations about political figures and media presentation. Even when a sketch compresses policy into a punchline, it shapes how audiences remember an issue in the short term. By turning a Venezuela angle into a memorable one-liner, SNL influenced the cultural moment around the topic.
H3: Fast-read takeaways
The sketch did not aim to provide policy analysis. Its goal was satire: to exaggerate manner and language for comedic effect. SNL’s choice to stage the scene on Air Force One amplified the stakes and underscored the contrast between performance and real-world consequences.
H2: Where to watch
The short video clip of the cold open is available on Saturday Night Live’s official channels and was shared by major news outlets and social platforms following the show. Fans interested in the full context can watch the episode on NBC or streaming services that carry SNL content.
SNL’s cold opens continue to be a barometer of what’s dominating political conversation, and this week’s Air Force One parody kept that tradition alive with a single, repeatable line: “We’re doing pirate now!”
Image Referance: https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/14/business/video/snl-saturday-night-live-air-force-one-trump-press-conference-digvid
