Copyright The New York Times
The image of President Trump keeping his distance while a man collapsed in the Oval Office during an announcement about the White House’s plans to lower the cost of obesity drugs would seem to tell its own story sufficiently. But “Saturday Night Live” added a few details to this narrative with an opening sketch that saw James Austin Johnson in his recurring role as the president, riffing on this scene while decidedly doing nothing at all to mitigate it. This weekend’s broadcast, hosted by Nikki Glaser and featuring the musical guest Sombr, began inside a re-creation of the Oval Office, with Mikey Day as an Eli Lilly executive making remarks from a podium, flanked by Marcello Hernández (as Dr. Mehmet Oz, the head of Medicare and Medicaid Services) and Andrew Dismukes (as Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.). Cue Jeremy Culhane passing out a few feet away from them, and cue Johnson promptly diverting attention away from the man. “Oh, hi,” Johnson said to the camera. “Didn’t see you there. Someone was dying in my office. I think I’m playing this very normal. Just stand there and stare like a sociopath. Didn’t even pretend like I was going to help, like when someone drops something and you do the fake bend.” Johnson added that every week he has been trying to “create a big visual that sort of sums up how things are going.” Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
