White House spokesperson calls 'Saturday Night Live' a 'waste' of time after season premiere
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson gave a brief response to Entertainment Weekly about NBC’s “Saturday Night Live" after its 51st season premiere.
The White House dismissed NBC’s "Saturday Night Live" as a "waste of time" akin to watching paint dry when reached for comment about its recent season premiere.
The long-running sketch comedy series began its 51st season Saturday night and once again featured cast member James Austin Johnson portraying President Donald Trump interrupting the cold open, joking that he could have the show canceled if it became too critical.
"I'm just here keeping my eye on ‘SNL.’ Making sure they don't do anything too mean about me," Johnson said as Trump.
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In another line, Johnson added, "But they better be on their best behavior, otherwise they're going to have to answer to my attack dog at the FCC, Brendan Carr."
He also closed out the sketch warning the show that "Daddy’s watching."
Despite the sketch mocking Trump, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson dismissed the attack and the show in a comment to Entertainment Weekly, saying she has "more entertaining" things to do with her time.
"Reacting to this would require me to waste my time watching it," White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said. "And like the millions of Americans who have tuned out from SNL, I have more entertaining things to do—like watch paint dry."
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Fox News Digital reached out to NBC for comment.
The opening sketch likely referenced late-night host and frequent Trump critic Jimmy Kimmel being suspended by ABC after broadcasting shows preempted his show for his controversial comments related to Charlie Kirk’s assassin.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair Brendan Carr also issued a veiled threat against the show before it was suspended.
ABC restored Kimmel’s show less than one week later.
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"Saturday Night Live" has frequently mocked Trump in the show’s cold open since his 2024 election campaign. Though Trump has criticized the show in the past, his administration and 2024 campaign team have largely ignored "SNL" throughout his second term.
One exception came in September 2024, when the Trump campaign fired back at a sketch that mocked assassination attempts against him.
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