SNL cold open features Trump, NYC Mayor Mamdani
A sketch spoofed a recent meeting between Donald Trump and Zohran Mamdani, featuring a new character.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
SNL cold open features Trump, NYC Mayor Mamdani
Photograph: Just Jared (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Saturday Night Live's 52nd season opened with a cold-open sketch featuring James Austin Johnson as Donald Trump visiting New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
- Ashley Padilla made her debut on SNL as Natalie Harp, an aide to Trump, who threatened Mamdani in the sketch.
- The sketch referenced the nor'easter storm affecting the East Coast.
- Trump compared Harp to the character Nikki from the show 'Obsession', noting she was 'like the girl from Obsession but blonde'.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 22 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 5 of the 27 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
54/100
Craft
77/100
Hype
15/100
27 sources · methodology
Missing from the right
Only 3 of the 22 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
A reader who follows the right would not have seen this. We report the absence rather than explain it: outlets choose what to cover for many reasons, and we have no evidence about which one applies here.
Saturday Night Live began its 52nd season with a cold-open sketch. James Austin Johnson appeared as Donald Trump, visiting New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The sketch referenced the nor'easter storm impacting the East Coast. Ashley Padilla debuted as Natalie Harp, an aide to Trump. In the sketch, Harp threatened Mamdani, stating, "If you hurt him, I will end you." Trump, in character, compared Harp to Nikki, a character from the show 'Obsession', describing her as 'like the girl from Obsession but blonde'.
Disagreement on sketch details
While most reports agree on the core elements of the sketch, the full reports from Just Jared and Variety offer more specific dialogue. Just Jared reports Trump saying, "Isn’t she great? She’s like the girl from Obsession, but blonde." Variety reports Trump saying, "She’s like the girl from ‘Obsession’ but blonde." Both outlets attribute the line to Trump and describe Padilla's character making a "frown face" or similar expression.
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated digests mention the specific detail that Trump compared Harp to the 'Obsession' character Nikki, calling her 'like the girl from Obsession but blonde.' This detail was present in the full reports from Just Jared and Variety, and in the digests from centre-rated outlets.
Coverage settled. We checked this 90 times and stopped on 2 Oct 2026, 19:00. The figures above are what it finished at.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
13 rated outlets
- Left-rated reports focused on the sketch's depiction of the relationship between Trump and Mamdani, often characterising it as a "bromance" or an "unlikely friendship." Many highlighted Ashley Padilla's debut as Natalie Harp and her threatening line to Mamdani. Several reports noted Trump's comparison of Harp to the 'Obsession' character Nikki. Headlines from outlets like Variety and The Independent US used phrases such as "Obsession Over President" or "mocks Natalie Harp’s obsession with Trump." Mashable's digest noted Trump "crushing hard on Mamdani."
Centre
6 rated outlets
- Centre-rated reports highlighted the debut of Ashley Padilla as Natalie Harp and the sketch's spoof of the meeting between Trump and Mayor Mamdani. Just Jared, which provided a full report, focused on Padilla's debut and the specific dialogue of the sketch, including Trump's comparison of Harp to the 'Obsession' character. Internewscast's digest used the headline "SNL Returns With Skit Mocking Trump Aide Natalie Harp’s Friendship."
Right
3 rated outlets
- The single right-rated report, from the New York Post, focused on the roasting of Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Its headline stated, "‘SNL’ roasts Mayor Zohran Mamdani with ‘urgent message’ for New Yorkers during nor’easter." The digest noted that Ramy Youssef mocked Mamdani in the sketch, filming a TikTok with Donald Trump during a fictional nor'easter.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover SNL cold open features Trump, NYC Mayor Mamdani?
- Of the 22 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 59% are rated left, 27% are rated centre, 14% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 27. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is SNL cold open features Trump, NYC Mayor Mamdani left or right?
- Neither side dominates it. Of the 22 rated outlets on this story, 59% are rated left, 27% are rated centre, 14% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
- Is the coverage of SNL cold open features Trump, NYC Mayor Mamdani biased?
- SNL cold open features Trump, NYC Mayor Mamdani is one event reported by 27 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting SNL cold open features Trump, NYC Mayor Mamdani?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered SNL cold open features Trump, NYC Mayor Mamdani?
- 27 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- Who played Donald Trump in the SNL sketch?
- James Austin Johnson played Donald Trump in the Saturday Night Live cold-open sketch. The sketch featured Trump visiting New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
- Who debuted as Natalie Harp on SNL?
- Ashley Padilla debuted on Saturday Night Live as Natalie Harp, an aide to Donald Trump. In the sketch, Harp threatened Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
- What comparison did Trump make in the SNL sketch?
- In the sketch, Donald Trump compared his aide Natalie Harp to the character Nikki from the show 'Obsession'. He described her as 'like the girl from Obsession but blonde'.
Read it at the source
27 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
13- SNL's Brutally Hilarious New Cold Open Will Send Trump Crying Into His Ketchup (opens Crooks and Liars in a new tab)
Crooks and Liars — is Crooks and Liars biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- 'SNL' kicks off Season 52 with Trump crushing hard on Mamdani (opens Mashable in a new tab)
Mashable — is Mashable biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Saturday Night Live mocks Natalie Harp’s obsession with Trump in Season 52 premiere (opens The Independent (US) in a new tab)
The Independent (US) — is The Independent (US) biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Saturday Night Live mocks Natalie Harp’s obsession with Trump in Season 52 premiere (opens The Independent in a new tab)
The Independent — is The Independent biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump and Mamdani's "unlikely animal friends" kick off SNL's Season 52 (opens The A.V. Club in a new tab)
The A.V. Club — is The A.V. Club biased? Our profile of this outlet
- SNL Cold Open Hits Trump, Mamdani and Natalie Harp (opens Mediaite in a new tab)
- 'SNL' Cold Open Puts Horror Movie Twist On Trump's Relationship With Natalie Harp (opens HuffPost UK in a new tab)
HuffPost UK — is HuffPost UK biased? Our profile of this outlet
- ‘SNL’ Cold Open: ‘Totally Normal’ Natalie Harp Threatens Mamdani Over Trump (opens RollingStone in a new tab)
RollingStone — is RollingStone biased? Our profile of this outlet
Show 5 more
- 'SNL' spoofs Trump and Mamdani bromance, skewers Natalie Harp (opens USA Today in a new tab)
- 'SNL' Cold Open Puts Horror Movie Twist On Trump's Relationship With Natalie Harp (opens HuffPost in a new tab)
- ‘SNL’ Opens Season With Mamdani Hanging Out With BFF Trump, Natalie Harp Going ‘Obsession’ Over President (opens Variety in a new tab)
- 'Saturday Night Live' Opens With Trump's Need For More Time With Mamdani (opens Deadline in a new tab)
- 'SNL' Cold Open: Trump and Mamdani Cement Friendship Over Press Ban, China President Visit and NYC's Historic Storm (opens The Wrap in a new tab)
Centre
6- New Yorkers Can’t Believe How Wrong ‘SNL’ Got Zohran Mamdani (opens Cracked.com in a new tab)
Cracked.com — is Cracked.com biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- 'Saturday Night Live' Season Premiere Takes Aim At Trump's Obsessive Aide Natalie Harp (opens uInterview in a new tab)
uInterview — is uInterview biased? Our profile of this outlet
- SNL Returns With Skit Mocking Trump Aide Natalie Harp’s Friendship (opens Internewscast in a new tab)
Internewscast — is Internewscast biased? Our profile of this outlet
- SNL returns with Natalie Harp skit mocking her friendship with Trump (opens dailymail.com in a new tab)
dailymail.com — is dailymail.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- SNL's Ashley Padilla Makes Debut as Natalie Harp in Cold Open Spoofing Trump's Meeting with Mamdani (opens Just Jared in a new tab)
Just Jared — is Just Jared biased? Our profile of this outlet
- SNL 52 Cold Open: Trump Visits Mamdani; Padilla's Natalie Harp Debuts (opens Bleeding Cool News And Rumors in a new tab)
Bleeding Cool News And Rumors — is Bleeding Cool News And Rumors biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
3- The Leftist Tilt of 'Mamdani Night Live' (opens Real Clear Politics in a new tab)
Real Clear Politics — is Real Clear Politics biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- The Leftist Tilt of 'Mamdani Night Live' (opens NewsBusters in a new tab)
NewsBusters — is NewsBusters biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- ‘SNL’ roasts Mayor Zohran Mamdani with ‘urgent message’ for New Yorkers during nor’easter (opens New York Post in a new tab)
New York Post — is New York Post biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
5- SNL Gives Trump’s Most Devoted Aide the ‘Obsession’ Treatment (opens Creepy Catalog in a new tab)
Creepy Catalog — is Creepy Catalog biased? Our profile of this outlet
- ‘SNL’ Returns With A Vengeance As Brutal Cold Open Tears Into Trump’s Wild Week (opens follow.it in a new tab)
follow.it — is follow.it biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- SNL’s Ashley Padilla Plays Natalie Harp in ‘Obsession’-Style Threat to Mamdani (opens NewsFinale in a new tab)
NewsFinale — is NewsFinale biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Natalie Harp Mocked for Trump Devotion on SNL, Jimmy Kimmel (opens BizToc in a new tab)
- ‘Saturday Night Live’ Opens Season With Riff On Donald Trump’s Need For More Time With Zohran Mamdani: “Please Let Me Stay Here With You” (opens franktrades.com in a new tab)
franktrades.com — is franktrades.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
How did this read?
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