Shane Gillis Brings His Trump Impression to ‘SNL’ to Skewer Ex-President’s $400 Gold Sneakers

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Shane Gillis brought his famous impression of former president Donald Trump to the Feb. 24 episode of “Saturday Night Live” in a faux movie trailer that took aim at the president’s new line of expensive speakers.

The faux trailer for “White Men Can Trump” had Gillis’ everyman character getting a magical pair of Donald Trump’s new line of gold high tops — which retail for $399 — and his life becoming infinitely better. Yet instead of actually making him better at basketball, the sneakers make him an expert at Trump’s unique brand of gaslighting, suddenly able to convince people he’s making baskets when he isn’t.

More from Variety

“They gave me the power to say I’m good at basketball, then double down on that until people actually start to believe it,” Gillis’ character says.

From there, he’s able to convince his boss he deserves a bigger office, a scale that he weighs much less than he actually does, and a woman that he’s a dynamo in the bedroom.

The sketch also included a cameo from SNL cast member James Austin Johnson as the actual Trump, and Mikey Day as someone who gets Biden sneakers and becomes too old to actually play ball.

The trailer also mocks other sports fantasies, saying, “From Newsmax Studios and the writer of ‘Like Mike’ comes another magical sneaker movie for white people.”

Gillis is hosting “Saturday Night Live” for the first time since he was fired from the cast of the show shortly after being hired in 2019. He opened his monologue by briefly mentioning the intolerant jokes scandal that ended his tenure before it even began.

Watch the full sketch below.

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.