“The scariest part about all these flights getting grounded was the messaging from the normally dependable Trump administration,” said Colin Jost during the November 15, 2026, broadcast of Saturday Night Live.
The late-night sketch show used its signature Weekend Update segment to dissect the administration’s handling of a massive nationwide aviation shutdown that occurred on Friday.
Jost mocked the administration’s public statements regarding the shutdown, noting that officials described the incident as a “telecommunications outage, as of now.” He questioned the deliberate ambiguity of the phrasing, remarking that “no one wants to hear: ‘Your child is safe, as of now.’”
The segment further scrutinized comments from Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, who attributed the total grounding of domestic air traffic to a contractor replacing copper wiring with fiberoptic cable. “So, one guy switched out one wire and took out all planes? I think that’s literally a scene from the movie, ‘Airplane!’” Jost joked.
Weekend Update with Colin Jost and Michael Che! pic.twitter.com/iYyN3WgOW3
Co-anchor Michael Che addressed the early response from Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who had assured the public that the incident was not a “9/11-type situation.” Che quipped, “Which he knew, because Rudy Giuliani didn’t see his shadow.”
Beyond the aviation disruptions, the program turned its focus to the ouster of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. The executive’s departure follows reports of workplace affairs, including a relationship with a suspected Chinese spy, which have caused technology stocks to fluctuate as the company is a major player in the domestic artificial intelligence sector.
“Jensen Huang had a midlife crisis so bad, you might lose your house in his divorce,” Jost observed. The segment also highlighted the growing political controversy surrounding what the Trump administration knew regarding Huang’s activities and the timing of those disclosures.
Jost referenced reports suggesting that the president had been briefed on the CEO’s relationship with the suspected Chinese operative during a diplomatic trip to China in May. “So this concludes yet another game of ‘Dementia or Lying?’” Jost said, before concluding, “Turns out it’s a trick question. Because it’s always both.”
