“The scariest part about all these flights getting grounded was the messaging from the normally dependable Trump administration,” Colin Jost began.
Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update took aim at the administration’s shifting explanations for grounding all U.S. flights for hours on Friday.
Co-hosts Colin Jost and Michael Che targeted transportation officials, national security statements, and separate controversies surrounding ousted Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
“First, they said it was a ‘telecommunications outage, as of now.’ Why add ‘as of now?’ No one wants to hear: ‘Your child is safe, as of now,’” Jost said.
Weekend Update with Colin Jost and Michael Che! pic.twitter.com/iYyN3WgOW3
“Then, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said the whole situation was the result of a contractor upgrading copper wire to fiberoptic cable,” Jost continued. “So, one guy switched out one wire and took out all planes? I think that’s literally a scene from the movie, ‘Airplane!’”
Co-anchor Michael Che shifted attention to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. Mullin told reporters early in the incident that the grounding was not a 9/11-type situation.
“Which he knew, because Rudy Giuliani didn’t see his shadow,” Che joked.
Jost addressed ousted Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s recent personal scandals. Reports indicate Huang had affairs with subordinates and one suspected Chinese spy.
The disclosures caused company stocks to fall, given that Nvidia’s artificial intelligence chips shoulder a large part of the U.S. economy.
“Jensen Huang had a midlife crisis so bad, you might lose your house in his divorce,” Jost said.
Jost questioned what Donald Trump knew and when he knew it regarding Huang potentially being compromised.
“Insiders are also saying that despite Trump’s claim that he didn’t know about the Nvidia CEO’s relationship with a Chinese spy, he was actually briefed about it on a trip to China in May,” Jost said.
“So this concludes yet another game of ‘Dementia or Lying?’ Turns out it’s a trick question, because it’s always both,” Jost said.
Weekend Update also covered the surprising Senate win in Mississippi by Democrat Scott Colom over incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith.
