Queens men’s ‘friendship’ spoofed on SNL
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President Donald Trump and Mayor Zohran Mamdani, both Queens men. Photo by Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
By Ryan Schwach
Two Queens men had their somewhat unlikely friendship spoofed on Saturday Night Live during the comedy sketch show’s season premiere over the weekend.
The show’s cold open joked about the relationship between Mayor Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump, who met at Gracie Mansion last week ahead of Trump’s appearance at the United Nations.
The sketch highlighted both men’s Queens backgrounds – albeit incorrectly – and also mentioned their ambitious plan to build housing on top of Sunnyside Yard.
“When I’m with you, I'm just firing on all cylinders,” said James Austin Johnson as Trump, gushing about his “best friend” Mamdani.
“Maybe it's because we're both from Queens,” he added.
“Isn't it funny to think I could have grown up in one of your apartment buildings in Queens?” responded SNL’s Mamdani, played by Queens-born comedian Ramy Youssef.
“Not with that last name,” said Austin Johnson.
Unlike Trump, Mamdani did not grow up in Queens.
He moved to the borough later in life, and represented Astoria as a state assemblymember for four years before becoming mayor.
Trump was raised in Jamaica Estates and inherited his father’s real estate business that had a notorious reputation for not renting to people of color.
The sketch, which also included an appearance from Ashley Padilla as Trump staffer and close confidant Natalie Harp, came a week after Trump spoke complimentarily about the Democratic Socialist mayor.
Following their Gracie Mansion meeting, Trump and Mamdani announced they had held advanced discussions about building 12,000 homes at Sunnyside Yard in Queens.
At the end of the sketch, Youssef’s Mamdani told Austin Johnson’s Trump he’d let him brave the weekend’s storm with him at Gracie Mansion if he gave him the $21 billion for the housing project.
“Are you out of your mind?” the lampooned president responded.
Trump then agreed to pay for the housing, but only if Mamdani followed him back on Instagram.
On Monday, Mamdani was asked about his portrayal on SNL.
“I think it's always something to be celebrated if the fact of our focus of $21 billion to create 12,000 new homes in Sunnyside Yard is given a national audience as it was,” he said. “And I think Ramy does a great job.”
