'SNL' opens season with Mamdani-Trump BFF cold open
'SNL' opens season with a cold open that puts Ramy Youssef's New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani hanging out with James Austin Johnson's Donald Trump as unlikely political BFFs. Ashley Padilla's Natalie Harp then crashes the visit going "Obsession" over the president, as Jalen Brunson hosts Season 52 with musical guest Katseye.
Key Takeaways
- Season 52 of "Saturday Night Live" opened with Mamdani and Trump as unlikely political BFFs in the cold open.
- Ramy Youssef played Mayor Zohran Mamdani opposite James Austin Johnson's Donald Trump at Gracie Mansion.
- Ashley Padilla's Natalie Harp interrupted the visit, evoking "Obsession" character Nikki.
- Jalen Brunson hosted the premiere with Katseye as musical guest; Saidah Belo-Osagie and Grace Reiter debuted.
- Brunson's monologue brought in the Knicks starting five for a Studio 8H roast.
According to Variety, the Season 52 premiere cold open leaned on an odd-couple political hangout. Youssef stopped by as Mamdani, whose office was visited by Johnson's Trump. The pair talked through the storm slamming the East Coast, the Knicks' championship, that week's U.N. meeting in New York City, and Trump's recent hosting of China President Xi Jinping.
Fans looking for more Streaming & TV Alerts coverage will recognize why the sketch landed so quickly: it mashed city politics, national headlines, and pop-culture references into one cold open.
What happened in the SNL Season 52 cold open?
The visit did not stay a quiet one-on-one for long. Natalie Harp, Trump's much-discussed appointments secretary, interrupted the discussion. Padilla's Harp evoked Nikki from "Obsession," then delivered a storm-proof punchline: despite the weather, she said she "ran here from D.C., 'Weapons' style."
The sketch also teased the premiere's wider lineup. Brunson hosted Season 52's opener, Katseye performed as musical guest, and new cast members Saidah Belo-Osagie and Grace Reiter made their debuts on the same night.
Why does the Mamdani-Trump BFF sketch matter?
Cold opens set the tone for an "SNL" season, and this one framed two unlikely allies as chatty BFFs amid real-world talking points. Pairing a newly sketched New York mayor with Trump let the show joke about a nor'easter, basketball glory, diplomacy, and White House-adjacent chaos in one scene.
Harp's "Obsession" turn added a second viral hook. By channeling a familiar film vibe while crashing the president's visit, the sketch gave the premiere a meme-ready character beat beyond the Mamdani-Trump buddy routine.
How did Jalen Brunson's monologue fit the premiere?
Variety also reported that Brunson's monologue brought familiar Knicks faces into Studio 8H. Before Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, and OG Anunoby appeared, Kenan Thompson played ESPN pundit Stephen A. Smith, admitting he had doubted Brunson could deliver the franchise's first championship since 1973.
After Brunson cut the bit short, his teammates roasted him from the audience. Towns asked whether you can foul out of "SNL," nodding to his Game 5 exit against the Spurs. Hart pressed Brunson on taking a $113 million pay cut to resign with the Knicks, then joked about whether that money was still up for grabs. Brunson later welcomed the starting five onstage, tying the night's basketball buzz to the season launch.
Together, the cold open and monologue gave Season 52 a clear premiere identity: politics with pop-culture bite up top, then a New York sports victory lap once the host took the stage.