SNL Opens Cold With 'Make America Great Depression Again' — Lampooning Trump Tariffs

Saturday Night Live’s James Austin Johnson stepped onto the platform portraying the President. Donald Trump , vowing to "Bring Back the Great Depression to America" in a parody of the president’s slogan. "Liberation Day" address where he outlined his extensive tariff plans.

Thanks everyone for joining us to discuss tariffs. "My favourite term, tariff—which surely stands for 'a-terrific-idea'—was mentioned by Trump, referring to the levy on Americans as the backbone of his extraordinary strategy for boosting our economy," he stated.

It’s actually even more effective than a plan since it's akin to a sequence of arbitrary digits, much like those seen on a computer monitor. Severance He continued, "You haven’t got the faintest clue about what these terms mean, but I understand the significance of those figures… Those numbers signify that we’re going to rebuild America’s wealth. In a few days, when you look at your stock portfolio, you’ll realize, 'I’m nearly too rich for my own good.'"

However, prior to everything else, the president stated, "We're set to initiate MAGDA — Make America Great Depression Again... It will be superior to merely being great. It will be an incredible, extraordinary depression, unlike anything witnessed before."

Johnson, similar to Trump, revisited the campaign during the autumn season when the president, who was also seeking office at the time, propagated the baseless claim that Haitian migrants in Ohio were taking and consuming people’s pets.

"You know, the downturn is going to be really severe. We'll end up eating the cats and dogs. How exciting," he remarked.

When he unveiled broad-based tariffs on Wednesday, President Trump asserted that the Great Depression wouldn’t have occurred if the United States had maintained its tariff policies. However, experts argue that these very tariffs actually exacerbated economic conditions back then.

Trump suggested that problems started when the income tax was introduced in 1913. Prior to this, the United States depended on tariffs.

"From 1789 to 1913, we operated as a country supported by tariffs, during which time the United States experienced its highest relative wealth," the president contended.

According to Trump, "We were 'gathering such enormous amounts of money at an incredibly rapid pace, we weren't sure how to handle it.'"

"In 1913, for reasons lost to history, they introduced the income tax. This shift meant that citizens, instead of foreign nations, began contributing the funds required to operate our government," he stated.

The tariffs placed on imported products are not actually paid by other countries, contrary to what Trump frequently incorrectly asserts.

The tariffs on imported products enforced by the U.S. are covered by American businesses that bring these goods into the country. A significant portion, if not all, of this additional expense is then transferred to customers through increased buying costs.

Trump asserted on Wednesday that the prosperous period in the U.S. "suddenly ended with the Great Depression" in 1929.

The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 increased duties on numerous products and is commonly regarded as worsening the economic downturn. As noted, Smoot-Hawley "serves as a warning sign for the risks associated with protectionist policies." State Department Directorate of the Historian's Office.

Smoot-Hawley failed to promote collaboration between nations in both economic and political spheres during a critical period for global diplomacy," the website notes. "It swiftly came to represent the 'beggar-thy-neighbour' strategies prevalent in the 1930s. These approaches, embraced by numerous countries at the time, led to a significant reduction in international commerce.

This action is seen as exacerbating the economic downturn that persisted from 1929 to 1939, since it weakened global commerce and significantly diminished the country’s earnings from exports.

On Saturday night, SNL proceeded to mock Trump’s large tariff display board.

We arranged the nations in a sequence that’s neither alphabetic nor numeric to create ultimate disarray," explained the president. "We'll apply reciprocated tariffs. Now, we all adore the term 'reciprocal,' just not when it comes to intimate moments, amiright folks? What did you say? Oh yes, they get my point.

"We need to send a message to nations who've been taking advantage of us, such as South Africa "South Africa imposes a 60 percent tariff on all our exports, and they have never even sent us one decent product," claimed Trump, which led to his appearance. Mike Myers as Elon Musk — the South African-born leader of DOGE — expressing dismay over the protests against Tesla .

We’re launching the new Tesla Model V, the world’s first electric vehicle designed for complete self-destruction," stated Musk. "It includes innovative features such as auto-shattering lights, self-punctured tires, and artificial intelligence-generated vandalism." He added, "Customers have options ranging from graphic symbols to offensive imagery—my personal pick being a design featuring phallic shapes arranged into swastika patterns.

Wow. Phallic swastikas — we really are the party of. Lincoln ,” Trump responded.

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