In a recent Saturday Night Live cold open, the show parodied a reported argument between tech mogul Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
In the sketch, James Austin Johnson plays President Donald Trump, who is in the Oval Office with Marcello Hernández’s Rubio. Trump tells Rubio, “I can’t have you fighting with Elon.” Referring to Rubio’s past nickname, Trump adds, “I need you to be my good ‘Little Marco.’”
Rubio responds that he doesn’t think Musk should have “total access to our government,” adding, “Planes are crashing, and he keeps trying to fire air traffic controllers.”
Elon Musk, played by Mike Myers, enters the scene, and Trump greets him with, “I wish to thank you for at least wearing a suit this time.” Trump humorously comments, “Doesn’t look great, right? Billionaire but he shops at Joseph A. Bank, it’s giving groomsman.”
As Musk and Rubio argue, Trump tries to calm them down, saying, “If you’re going to insult each other, at least make them good, okay?” Trump suggests jokes like, “Elon, how do you have 20 kids, but I’ve never seen you with a chick, just dudes named ‘donkey dong’ and ‘boner king’… Marco, short and gay, classy.”
The sketch is based on a report from The New York Times about a recent Cabinet meeting where Musk and Rubio clashed. According to the article, Musk criticized Rubio for not firing more workers at the State Department and called him “good on TV.” Rubio has reportedly been angry with Musk, especially after Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) pushed to close down the U.S. Agency for International Development, which manages billions in global aid.
During the Cabinet meeting, Rubio pushed back, questioning Musk’s claims and asking if the over 1,500 State Department employees who took early retirement should return just to be laid off again.
As tensions rose, Trump stepped in to defend Rubio.
You can watch the full SNL cold open in the video below:
