SNL's White Lotus Parody Of Donald Trump Mocks His Most Embarrassing And Vulnerable Habit

Donald Trump was once a good enough sport to poke fun at himself on "Saturday Night Live," even though it resulted in of one of the most awkward moments in "SNL" history (anyone remember "Donald Trump's House of Wings"?). But ever since he entered the White House and the iconic show began parodying him, the president has had nothing but harsh words for them. After watching Alec Baldwin portraying him in February 2019, Donald snarled on X, formerly known as Twitter, "Nothing funny about tired Saturday Night Live on Fake News NBC!" We can only imagine, then, what his reaction was to the April 12, 2025, episode. One sketch in particular surely stung the president by pointing out his most notorious habit.

"The White Potus" was a clever sendup of "The White Lotus" ("POTUS," of course, is an acronym for "President of the United States"). Set in the HBO series' Thai resort from Season 3, the sketch featured James Austin Johnson as Donald, Chloe Fineman as Melania Trump, Mikey Day as Donald Trump Jr., Alex Moffat as Eric Trump, and a surprise cameo by Scarlett Johansson as Ivanka Trump. The sketch mocked the first family and many of the president's cabinet members, even sneaking in a dig about Tiger Woods' relationship with Vanessa Trump, Don Jr.'s ex-wife.

Donald's persona was clearly based on Timothy Ratliff, the "White Lotus" character played by Jason Isaacs, who frequently takes his wife's lorazepam pills to deal with his increasingly debilitating anxiety. In this case, however, the president reached for a prescription bottle marked with the McDonald's logo and gulped down a chicken nugget before he could bring himself to leave his hotel room. When he next appeared, Johnson's Donald sat in a quiet, nugget-induced daze, barely reacting to news of a recession.

Donald Trump's love affair with fast food is legendary, but it's also long been the object of both concern and mockery. A man pushing 80 with an active and stressful job needs to guard his health, and that's not easy to do on a diet heavy on burgers and gallons of Diet Coke. Appointing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the new head of the Health & Human Services department was seen by some as Donald Trump's clue that he might be ready to ditch his McDonald's habit, since the controversial politician has pledged to improve the country's eating habits and reduce chronic illnesses. 

Shortly after the 2024 election, Donald, RFK Jr., Elon Musk, and Donald Trump Jr. posed on Trump Force One with an array of Mickey D's boxes. Don Jr. quipped on X, "Make America Healthy Again starts TOMORROW." Was that the president's last hurrah before switching from nuggets to salads? Donald's personal physician recently declared him to be "in excellent health" (via X) and an impressive 20 pounds lighter than the end of his first administration. Though Donald takes medication for high cholesterol, the former "Apprentice" host shows no warning signs of heart, lung, or cognitive issues. 

The White House kitchen staff is likely sneaking in extra veggies too. His former chef, Andre Rush, confirmed to Politico that he tried to make subtle changes to the president's menu to make it more nutritious. Still, he also acknowledged that Donald is a man of habit who won't give up his beloved Diet Coke and has to be persuaded to try new foods. Until we see more evidence that the POTUS has really reformed his eating, his junk-food cravings will continue to be a punchline on "SNL."