So, if you turned on your TV this week expecting the usual late-night sketches, you probably got a bit of a shock—or maybe exactly what you expected, depending on how closely you follow the news. James Austin Johnson was back in the wig, and Donald Trump defended his tariffs on SNL this week in a way that felt like a fever dream. Honestly, the timing couldn't have been more chaotic.
The bit wasn't just some throwaway joke about the economy. It was a full-on, five-minute deep dive into the "Liberation Day" tariff plan that's been making the stock market look like a heart rate monitor at a heavy metal concert. Johnson, who has basically perfected the rambling, stream-of-consciousness style of the 47th president, didn't hold back. He stood behind a podium that looked suspiciously like the one in the Rose Garden and started riffing on why a 25% tax on everything from Canadian maple syrup to Mexican auto parts is actually a "terrific idea."
The "MAGDA" Strategy and the Big Mac
One of the wildest parts of the sketch was when Johnson’s Trump rebranded his economic policy. He’s not just making America great again anymore; he’s trying to "Make America Great Depression Again." Or "MAGDA," for short. It’s dark humor, for sure. He literally told the audience, "It will be a fantastic, unbelievable depression. Never seen before."
He even brought out these massive cardboard charts. You know the ones. But instead of actual economic data, one was just a picture of a Big Mac wearing a hula skirt. Apparently, that’s because the tariffs are hitting the "Heard and McDonald Islands"—which, for the record, are real uninhabited islands near Antarctica—and Trump just liked the name. "Can you imagine that? A Big Mac in a hula skirt. Ooh la la!" It’s that kind of specific, weird detail that makes the SNL version of Trump feel so real. It's funny, but it also hits on the very real confusion people have about how these trade wars actually work.
Why the "Defense" Matters Right Now
Kinda crazy, right? But there’s a reason SNL is leaning so hard into this. In the real world, the actual Donald Trump has been facing a ton of heat for his tariff announcements. Just a few days ago, the real Trump actually announced a 90-day "pause" on some of these reciprocal tariffs because, well, people were getting "yippy" about the prices of things like eggs and cars.
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On the show, they didn't miss that U-turn. Johnson’s Trump joked that the tariffs were "working so well that I had to stop them." Then he added, with that classic shrug, "But now everything is back how it was, minus a few trillion dollars. A historic transfer of wealth from the middle classes to my buddies. Oh well."
It’s biting stuff.
The Elon Musk of It All
You can't talk about Trump in 2026 without talking about Elon Musk. SNL brought back Mike Myers (yes, that Mike Myers) to play Elon, complete with a "cheesehead" hat. The sketch played into the rumors of a rift between the two. Myers-as-Elon joked about his new "Tesla Model V," which is the first electric car that is "fully self-vandalizing."
Why? Because apparently, in the world of the sketch, nobody wants to be seen in a Tesla anymore because of the tariff drama. The car comes with AI-powered graffiti features. It was a weird, meta moment that highlighted how much these political moves are affecting the brands of the people involved.
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What People Are Getting Wrong
Most people think these SNL sketches are just about making fun of the guy’s voice. But if you look closer, they're actually explaining the policy—or the lack of it. When Johnson says the tariff numbers are like the "numbers on the computer screen in Severance" where "you have no idea what the hell they mean," he’s tapping into a real frustration.
Economists like Paul Krugman have been shouting from the rooftops about how tariffs are basically a sales tax on the American consumer. But SNL makes that point by joking about "Sergeant Munch" cereal—the lower-rank, worse-tasting version of Cap'n Crunch you have to buy because the price of the original went up.
The Reality Behind the Comedy
While the show was hilarious, the actual situation is pretty tense. Here’s the breakdown of what’s actually happening with the policy that Donald Trump defended his tariffs on SNL this week:
- The 90-Day Pause: Most countries got a reprieve, but China didn't. In fact, their import tax got bumped to 125%.
- The Stock Market: It’s been "doing a Jesus," as Johnson put it. It died, rose on the third day, and then died again on the fourth.
- Consumer Goods: We are seeing real-world price hikes on electronics and auto parts, which is why the "90-day pause" happened in the first place.
The Weekend Update Sting
Colin Jost and Michael Che didn't let the "defense" stand without a counter-punch. Jost compared listening to the President talk about trade to "listening to Bubba Gump talk about shrimp." He pointed out that Trump spent the whole week trying to "rescue the economy from the disastrous policies of whoever was president last week"—forgetting, of course, that it was him.
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Michael Che’s take was even blunter. He compared the tariff fallout to taking a "whole bottle of medicine with a glass of vodka and laying in a warm bath." It’s that kind of exhaustion that seems to be the prevailing mood right now.
Actionable Insights: What You Should Do
If you’re watching the news and wondering how this "MAGDA" era actually affects your wallet, here’s the deal:
- Watch the 90-day window. This pause isn't a permanent cancellation. If you need a big-ticket item like a car or a new laptop, you might want to pull the trigger before that window closes and the "reciprocal" taxes potentially kick back in.
- Check your labels. The "Made in America" push is real, but as the sketch joked with the $1,300 "Trump Bible," American-made doesn't always mean cheaper right now because the supply chains are still a mess.
- Diversify your news. SNL is great for a laugh and a quick summary, but the nuance of trade policy is better found in places like The Wall Street Journal or The Economist.
Basically, the "defense" we saw on TV was a parody, but the economic anxiety it's mocking is 100% real. Whether you love the guy or can't stand him, the "terrific" tariffs are the story of the year, and they aren't going away just because the cameras stopped rolling at 30 Rock.
To stay ahead of how these trade shifts might hit your personal budget, keep a close eye on the Department of Commerce announcements during this 90-day "yippy" period. The next three months will likely determine if we're heading for a "Great Depression" or just a very expensive year at the grocery store.