Katie Miller (Photo by Tom Brenne for Reuters)
“Saturday Night Live” used its first episode after Republicans’ midterm wipeout to go after Elon Musk and President Donald Trump, and some on the right were not laughing.
During “Weekend Update,” cast member Jeremy Culhane played Musk asking his AI chatbot for “an epic vulgar roast” of himself.
“Elon Musk, you’re the worst thing South Africa has ever done,” the bit went. “When you’re on TV, it feels like an episode of Hate on the Spectrum. Maybe if you have 100 more kids, one of them will talk to you.”
Katie Miller, the wife of incoming White House chief of staff Stephen Miller and a former Musk aide, was furious.
“SNL is literally the antithesis of comedy and satire,” she wrote on X. “It takes weak men to take cheap shots — especially about @elonmusk’s kids. Elon is a devoted dad who prioritizes time with his kids and it’s obvious they absolutely adore him.”
“This is just a political hit job masquerading under the banner of comedy,” she added. “Make comedy actually funny again.”
Others on the right zeroed in on the episode’s surprise guest: Sen.-elect James Talarico (D-TX), who beat Trump-backed Ken Paxton on Tuesday. Talarico appeared alongside James Austin Johnson’s Trump and said, “Mr. President, if we can work together, we can make life better for everyday Americans.”
Ryan Fournier, founder of Students for Trump, wasn’t buying it.
“Don’t fall for James Talarico’s SNL PR stunt,” Fournier wrote. “He claims he wants to work with Trump, but the second Schumer snaps his fingers, he will vote against the American people every single time.”
“We MUST take Texas back in 2028. Make Texas RED again!” he added.
Right-wing commentator Eric Daugherty made a similar argument. He warned that if Talarico “ever becomes a crucial, deciding vote on any bill, he will fall in line with Chuck Schumer,” and wrote that “Texas MUST FLIP RED!”
The Musk joke also drew criticism from one self-described Christian mother on X, who wrote that “bringing his kids into the roast... crosses from comedy into something hurtful.”
Katie Miller’s complaint got a lot of mockery in return.
“Stephen Miller’s wife has some comedy advice for SNL,” MeidasTouch co-founder Brett Meiselas wrote with a laughing emoji.
“Yeah, you’re a stitch,” wrote John Podhoretz, the editor of the conservative magazine Commentary.
Yeah, you’re a stitch.
— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) November 8, 2026
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