There was a time — not that long ago, really — when joking about killing a president would get you a visit from the Secret Service, not a standing ovation on live television.
But hey, it’s 2026. Standards are dead, and NBC is dancing on the grave.
SNL jokes about President Trump getting assassinated in a theater like Lincoln. And the crowd laughs and cheers. pic.twitter.com/7Tuoh4AAVn
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) April 5, 2026
Saturday Night Live’s Michael Che decided to ring in Easter weekend with a little assassination humor during the “Weekend Update” segment. Because nothing says “He is risen” like implying the sitting president should catch a bullet at the theater.
The “Joke”
Here’s how it went down. Che told the studio audience he thinks “that’s cool that the president is going to the theater,” referencing Trump’s attendance at a performance of Chicago last Wednesday at the Trump John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Then came the punchline.
“What’s the worst that could happen?”
The crowd erupted. Cheering. Clapping. Laughing like hyenas at a comedy show that just endorsed political violence with a wink and a nudge.
Let’s spell it out for anyone playing dumb: the “joke” was a direct reference to Abraham Lincoln — the first Republican president — who was shot in the head at Ford’s Theatre in 1865 by a Democrat assassin named John Wilkes Booth. That’s the comparison Che made. On national television. The night before Easter. And the audience loved it.
Imagine — just imagine — if a Fox News host had cracked a joke like that about Barack Obama or Joe Biden. CNN would’ve launched a 72-hour panel discussion on “stochastic terrorism.” MSNBC would’ve demanded congressional hearings. The comedian’s career would’ve been vaporized before the second commercial break.
But when it’s Trump? The liberal audience treats it like a Dave Chappelle punchline. Comedy gold, baby.
Jost Joins the Pile-On
Not to be outdone, Che’s co-anchor Colin Jost took his own swing — this time at Trump’s foreign policy. Jost referenced the president’s warning to Iran that unless they stop blocking the Straits of Hormuz, he would “bring them back to the stone age where they belong.”
Jost’s response?
“In the spirit of Easter, let me just say: Jesus Christ!”
Real brave stuff, Colin. Mocking the guy who’s trying to stop a theocratic regime that murders its own citizens, imprisons dissidents, and rapes and kills women for showing too much hair. But sure — Trump’s the villain here because he used mean words about the Mullahs. The SNL writers’ room must have a “Bad Guys We Don’t Criticize” whiteboard, and Iran’s regime is apparently pinned right at the top.
The Real Problem
This isn’t about “edgy comedy.” Comics push boundaries. That’s their job. But there’s a canyon-sized difference between dark humor and casually normalizing the assassination of a sitting president — a president, by the way, who already survived an actual assassination attempt in 2024. A bullet grazed his ear. That happened. In real life. Not on a comedy sketch.
And NBC just let their marquee show turn it into a laugh line.
Trump didn’t tiptoe around Iran. He didn’t issue a sternly worded letter through the State Department like every president before him. He told them exactly what would happen if they kept playing games. That’s not reckless — that’s clarity. Something Washington hasn’t seen in decades.
But SNL doesn’t do clarity. SNL does clapter — that strange hybrid where a liberal audience claps not because something is funny, but because it signals the right tribal allegiance. Che’s joke wasn’t comedy. It was a loyalty test. And that studio audience passed with flying colors.
Where This Goes
Here’s the pattern. The media class wrings its hands about “political violence” and “threats to democracy” every time a conservative sends a mean tweet. Then their favorite comedians joke about killing the president on network TV, and suddenly it’s all just “satire.” Just a bit. Lighten up, right?
Don’t expect NBC to apologize. Don’t expect Lorne Michaels to address it. They’ll do what they always do — hide behind the word “comedy” like it’s a bulletproof vest for bad behavior.
One day, Saturday Night Live might actually be funny again. But that would require talent, courage, and the ability to punch in more than one direction. Until then, it’s just a weekly hate rally with better lighting.
