“Saturday Night Live” is no stranger to poking fun at religion, but its latest sketch is drawing criticism for suggesting Vice President JD Vance may have played a role in the death of Pope Francis.
The episode opened with a sentimental musical number dedicated to moms ahead of Mother’s Day. The song was abruptly interrupted by a parody of President Donald Trump, played by cast member James Austin Johnson. The opening monologue of the show has consistently been focused on the president for weeks.
“It’s me again, invading all aspects of your life,” Johnson’s Trump said as he took the stage. He quickly shifted the tone by commenting on the Catholic Church’s recent election of a new pope.
“We have an American Pope, Chicago-style, no ketchup,” he joked about Pope Leo XIV, who was born in Chicago, Illinois. “But we like Pope Leo. We hope he does what we want. That’s what you want the Pope to do.”
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The sketch took a darker turn when the parody Trump implied that Vice President Vance may have had something to do with Pope Francis’ death.
L-R: Bowen Yang as JD Vance and James Austin Johnson as Donald Trump during the “Campaign” Cold Open on Saturday, September 28, 2024. (Will Heath/NBC via Getty Images)
“Otherwise, I’ll have to send JD back to do his thing. Remember last time JD met the pope?” he said, referencing the fact that Vance met Pope Francis just one day before the pontiff’s death.
Vance was, in fact, the last known world leader to meet with Pope Francis, visiting him on Easter Sunday last month. The pope passed away the following day.
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The sketch went on to blame Vance for a string of international crises, with Johnson’s Trump saying, “He’s got the Meidas touch, but for bad things. He meets the pope? Dead. Goes to India? War! Joins my campaign? Trump wins!”
Following news of Pope Francis’ death, Vance expressed his condolences on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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“I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill,” Vance wrote, in part. “But I’ll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days of COVID. It was really quite beautiful. May God rest his soul.”
Still, the timing of the meeting spurred conspiracy theories and jokes online. John F. Kennedy’s grandson even posted to his over a hundred thousand of X followers: “Okay JD killed the pope.”
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Vance has not responded to the online speculation directly, but in an interview with Fox News Digital, he reflected on the meeting as a profound moment.
“I was one of, if not the very last world leader to actually meet with the pope,” Vance said. “I took one of my relatively junior staffers, who is a devout Catholic, and I looked back at him when he was about to meet the pope, and he was crying–it sort of drives home how important this, not just this man, but this institution is to over a billion people worldwide.”
After the meeting, Vance flew to India for a diplomatic visit. He learned of Pope Francis’ passing after he landed.
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The SNL sketch didn’t stop at the Vance-pope connection. It went on to mock Catholicism itself, likening the religion to popular American institutions.
“We love Catholics,” Johnson’s Trump said. “It’s one of the stronger Christian organizations, along with Salvation Army, and I want to say Chick-fil-A.”
Throughout the season, the long-running sketch comedy show has repeatedly questioned President Trump’s faith, and for their Easter-themed episode, compared Trump to Jesus.
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Their parody version of Trump saying: “It’s me, your favorite president, Donald Jesus Trump, comparing myself to the Son of God once again.”