Billionaire Elon Musk has responded to a Saturday Night Live (SNL) skit, which parodied the tense White House meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Responding to a clip of the spoof on X, Musk remarked, "Humour fails when it lies," taking issue with the show's portrayal of the political encounter.
The SNL video, titled "Elon Musk's cold open", showed Trump (played by James Austin Johnson) alongside Vice President JD Vance (Bowen Yang) confronting Zelensky (Mikey Day) over Ukraine's war with Russia.
The skit featured a surprise appearance by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, played by SNL alumnus Mike Myers, wielding a chainsaw and dressed in a black coat.
The sketch began with Johnson's Trump introducing himself as the "President and CEO of Gaza Hotel and Casino" and telling Zelensky, "Welcome to this incredible trap; it's going to be a big, beautiful trap, and we're going to attack him very soon for no reason."
Bowen Yang's JD Vance jumped in with: "Watch out, 'cause this kitty's got claws."
The comedic highlight of the skit came when Johnson's Trump mockingly thanked Zelensky for dressing in a "casual Star Trek" outfit, saying he loved the show because "there's no DEI." He added, "The white guy was the leader, and he bossed around Spock, who I believe was Guatemalan."
The skit also showed Trump urging Zelensky to apologise to Russian President Vladimir Putin and suggested that he offer his wife to Putin as a peace offering. This led to a dramatic outburst from Yang's JD Vance, who, in an exaggerated comedic rant, shouted at Zelensky for not expressing enough gratitude, saying, "What happened to 'thank you'? You haven't said thank you once in the past 15 seconds I've been yelling at you!"
The segment further satirised Trump, with him listing off random items: "I have the cards. I have Skip. I have Draw Four. I have Reverse. I have Get Out of Jail Free - the Supreme Court gave me that one. I have Pikachu and Charmander and Charizard. All I'm missing is a Charmeleon."
Then came the moment that drew Musk's attention. Mike Myers, playing Musk, entered the scene dressed in a long black coat, holding a chainsaw, and declared, "They're saying I'm firing people with no cause. But I do have cause. It's 'cause I feel like it."
The Real Oval Office Clash
The skit was a satirical take on the heated White House meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky last Friday.
Zelensky sought security guarantees from the US amid Ukraine's ongoing war with Russia, while Trump pressured him to make concessions for a swift resolution.
Tensions peaked when Vance accused Zelensky of failing to express enough gratitude for US aid, despite the Ukrainian President beginning the meeting with words of thanks. The conversation grew more confrontational as Trump interrupted, telling Zelensky, "Don't tell us what we're going to feel."
The meeting ended without a resolution. Trump cancelled a planned joint news conference and the signing of a minerals agreement. The Ukrainian delegation was asked to leave.
