Saturday Night Live returned last week after a short break, arriving just in time to ridicule Donald Trump’s new line of gold “Never Surrender” sneakers, giving the high tops a starring role in a skit dedicated to the former president’s $399 kicks.
In a parody sketch of the movie White Men Can’t Jump, the episode’s SNL host Shane Gillis played 30-year-old Gordon Dwyer, a loser who has no luck in love, at work or on the basketball court.
When all hope seems lost, Gillis bangs on a locker and out falls a large box with a note saying, “Gordon – thought you could use these,” signed by “Donald J. Trump.”
The aptly named skit named ‘White Men Can Trump’ continues, showing that while Gillis’ character is wearing the bold gold sneakers, he believes that “winning is a state of mind”.
While he is still terrible at basketball, he convinces his fellow players into thinking that the basket he just missed, actually went in.
“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 during the skit, mocking Mr Trump and the numerous false claims he has made throughout the years.
Gillis’ character goes on to make people believe he deserves things such as a better office at work, or that the woman he is in bed with, all the while wearing the golden sneakers, just experienced the “most fantastic love-making you’ve ever had”.
The real Mr Trump holding his new ‘super limited’ sneakers
(Getty Images)
He even had the ability to tell the weight scales that it was lying, making the pounds on the screen drop before his eyes.
Turning into a fully-fledged Mr Trump lookalike by the end of the skit, Gillis’ character is met by Mr Trump, played James Austin Johnson impersonating the former president.
“Nice shoes. But you know, in many ways, the real magic has been inside of you all along,” Johnson said, mimicking Mr Trump.
“Wrong,” Gillis said, also dressed and speaking in a Mr Trump manner. “It comes from the shoes and you are coming off as very stupid, and frankly, quite rude walking in here like this.”
“My work here is done,” Johnson’s Mr Trump character said and, in true Mr Trump fashion, blabbered on more before being abruptly cut off by the parody movie title – something which happened recently when Fox News cut the former president off to fact-check his South Carolina speech.
The real Mr Trump, while not promising any magical powers with his “Never Surrender” sneakers, was very impressed with his new footwear line as he announced it at a gathering at Sneaker Con in Philadelphia on 17 February.
His shiny gold shoes, emblazoned with a large “T” on the side, with the US flag stitched around the collar, were launched just off the back of being ordered to pay around $454 million, including interest, in the New York fraud trial ruling.
Unfortunately, for most of the die-hard Maga supporters, the golden shoes are currently not available for purchase after 1,000 of the limited edition $399 high tops were completely sold out at pre-order.
However, luckily for Trump supporters far and wide, Mr Trump has more ostentatious sneakers available to pre-order, not forgetting his cologne and perfume range, one of which has a golden Trump head gracing the top of the bottle.
