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“Saturday Night Live” returned for its 52nd season with NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson as host, and the cold open wasted no time diving into one of the more unexpected storylines in New York politics: the surprisingly friendly dynamic between Mayor Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump.

James Austin Johnson, the show’s go-to Trump impressionist, was back in character once again. Comedian Ramy Youssef reprised his role as Mamdani, this time worried about an approaching nor’easter set to hit New York City. In the sketch, Youssef’s Mamdani records a TikTok video and wonders aloud who would be reckless enough to visit him in such rough weather, only for Johnson’s Trump to show up moments later.

The two characters bond briefly over growing up in Queens, with Youssef’s Mamdani joking he could have lived in one of Trump’s old apartment buildings. Johnson’s Trump shoots back a quip about Mamdani’s last name, poking fun at the odd-couple friendship the sketch is built around.

The scene brings in a second surprise visitor: Ashley Padilla playing Natalie Harp, described as Trump’s especially loyal executive assistant, who says she rushed over from Washington, D.C. to see him.

Later in the episode, “Weekend Update” anchors Michael Che and Colin Jost worked through the week’s political headlines, including Chinese President Xi Jinping’s trip to the United States, former Vice President Kamala Harris campaigning ahead of the midterms, and the ongoing U.N. General Assembly gathering in New York.

The segment also featured cast regulars Jeremy Culhane and Jane Wickline. Wickline took on the role of Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who has publicly pushed for slowing down AI development, portraying him as a Gollum-style figure muttering to himself about keeping control over his own invention. In the bit, Wickline’s Amodei asks Che whether he’d press a hypothetical button that kills everyone if pushed. Che immediately says no, prompting a mock look of surprise from Wickline.

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