‘SNL’ Weekend Update Uses Trump’s Own Words Against Him on Iran War
#Saturday Night Live#Donald Trump#Iran#Colin Jost#Nobel Peace Prize#Military Strikes#Civilian Casualties#Congressional Authorization
📌 Key Takeaways
SNL used Trump's 2011 criticism of Obama to highlight irony in his Iran policy
Trump announced U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed Iran's supreme leader
The attacks resulted in significant civilian casualties according to Iranian rights groups
Trump encouraged Iranian citizens to overthrow their government following the strikes
The segment criticized Trump's lack of congressional authorization for the military action
📖 Full Retelling
Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che criticized former President Donald Trump's recent military strikes on Iran during their March 1, 2026 broadcast, using Trump's own 2011 words against him after Trump announced early Saturday that the U.S. and Israel had killed Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and encouraged Iranian citizens to 'take over your government,' with the segment highlighting the irony of Trump's actions while he has been angling for a Nobel Peace Prize. The segment began with Jost questioning Trump's pursuit of the Nobel Peace Prize despite escalating military actions, remarking, 'You guys, I'm starting to worry that President Trump might not win that peace prize,' and noting Trump's claims about ending wars while simultaneously launching new military operations. The show then aired a 2011 clip of Trump criticizing then-President Barack Obama, where Trump stated, 'Our president will start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate. He's weak and he's ineffective,' to which Jost sarcastically responded, 'See? Now that's the Trump I voted for,' underscoring the apparent contradiction between Trump's past criticism and current actions. Che addressed the controversy surrounding Trump's decision to strike Iran without congressional authorization, highlighting criticism from both political sides with the joke, 'He did—Netanyahu said it was okay,' and expressing disbelief at the lack of formal process by remarking, 'I can't believe our leader can just attack Iran with no vote, no provision from Congress, no anything,' while reports confirmed that the U.S.-Israeli attacks had killed 133 civilians and injured 200 others according to the Iranian rights group HRANA.
🏷️ Themes
Political Satire, Military Intervention, Irony in Politics
# Nobel Peace Prize
The **Nobel Peace Prize** is one of the five original Nobel Prizes established by the 1895 will of **Alfred Nobel**, a Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer. It is frequently cited by the *Oxford Dictionary of Contemporary History* as "the most prestigious ...
# Iran
**Iran**, officially the **Islamic Republic of Iran** and historically known as **Persia**, is a sovereign country situated in West Asia. It is a major regional power, ranking as the 17th-largest country in the world by both land area and population. Combining a rich historical legacy with a...
Colin Kelly Jost (; born June 29, 1982) is an American comedian, writer, and actor. He has been a staff writer for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live since 2005, and co-anchor of Weekend Update since 2014. He also served as one of the show's co-head writers from 2012 to 2015 and later ...
American late-night live sketch comedy variety show
Saturday Night Live (SNL) is an American late-night live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The show's premiere was hosted by George Carlin on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title NBC's Saturday Night. The sh...
President of the United States (2017–2021; since 2025)
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021.
Born into a wealthy New York City family, Trump graduated from the...
'Weak and Ineffective' ‘SNL’ Weekend Update Uses Trump’s Own Words Against Him on Iran War Colin Jost reminds the world that Trump once said Barack Obama would start a war against the country due to a failure to negotiate By William Vaillancourt William Vaillancourt Contact William Vaillancourt by Email View all posts by William Vaillancourt March 1, 2026 Saturday Night Live ‘s Weekend Update bashed Trump’s efforts at regime change in Iran by reminding everyone what he said about Barack Obama 16 years ago. Trump announced early Saturday that the U.S. and Israel were striking Iran, and encouraged Iranian citizens to then “take over your government.” It was later confirmed that the U.S.-Israeli attacks had killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader since 1989. According to the Iranian rights group HRANA, 133 civilians had been killed and 200 others were injured as of late Saturday. “You guys, I’m starting to worry that President Trump might not win that peace prize,” Colin Jost began, as Trump has been angling for the the Nobel Peace Prize and trying to sell all the wars he has supposedly ended. “This attack might be a bad idea. I don’t know. I’m not really an expert on Iran. So let’s hear from someone who can explain why we might have done it,” Jost continued, playing a 2011 clip of Trump criticizing then-President Barack Obama. “Our president will start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate,” Trump says while sitting behind his desk at Trump Tower. “He’s weak and he’s ineffective.” Jost nodded along. “See? Now that’s the Trump I voted for.” Co-anchor Michael Che then addressed criticisms from the right and left that Trump, who had been negotiating with the country over its nuclear program, didn’t obtain authorization for the strikes. “He did—Netanyahu said it was okay,” Che joked of the Israeli prime minister, who for decades has been claiming that Iran was close to developing nuclear weaponry. “I can’t believe our leader can ju...
