In a scenario seemingly lifted directly from reality, “Saturday Night Live” targeted the Trump administration’s recent digital mishap, which involved inadvertently adding Jeffrey Goldberg, Editor-in-Chief of The Atlantic, to a secretive Signal group chat intended for war planning. The incident, which quickly earned the moniker “Signalgate,” became a prevalent topic on social media and received the full comedic treatment on “SNL” over the weekend.
The Cold Open segment of the show extended the Signalgate narrative, featuring Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, portrayed by Andrew Dismukes, who mistakenly included a group of high school girls in the confidential communication thread. Hosts Mikey Madison, Ego Nwodim, and Sarah Sherman portrayed characters attempting to persuade Hegseth, along with Marco Rubio and JD Vance, that they were not the intended audience for top-secret information concerning undercover FBI agents and plans involving the Giza pyramids.
Over the course of four hectic minutes, the girls pleaded to be removed from the chat while the oblivious officials continued divulging national secrets, likening the situation to a Discord server frequented by teenage conspiracy enthusiasts. Despite these mishaps, Jeffrey Goldberg remained in the loop.
