SNL Skewers Trump’s $399 Gold Sneakers With Hilarious Parody of White Men Can’t Jump
Donald Trump’s $399 golden kicks that he revealed at last weekend’s SneakerCon have been roasted far and wide, and now Saturday Night Live has released a movie parody about the shoes’ power of transformation with White Men Can Trump.
The parody was a take on the 1992 basketball comedy, White Men Can’t Jump, starring Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes. But, instead of giving SNL’s Shane Gillis’ character the ability to be a real baller, the shoes allow him to convince others that he’s all that on the court and in his previously miserable life.
The piece opens with Gillis’ character, a 30-year old loser who “couldn’t catch a break at work, in love, and especially on the court,” as he takes aim and misses badly while “going for three.”
“But that’s all about to change,” the voiceover announces, as Gillis discovers a shoebox has magically appeared in his gym locker with the inscription, “Gordon, thought you could use these,” signed by Donald J. Trump himself.
The former loser quickly learns that “winning is a state of mind,” as the shoes gave him the power “to say I’m good at basketball, then double down on that until people actually start to believe it,” his character says, in a play on Trump’s braggadocio and ability to convince MAGA followers that up is down and down is up.
Suddenly, the shoes transform the character, all the way from his Trumpian accent to his presidential coif.
“I didn’t miss, it went in,” Gillis’ character tells his fellow pickup players after he shoots and whiffs, and, magically, they buy it.
Trump touted his golden sneaks just a day after he was ordered to pay a $354 million fine for defrauding banks and insurance companies. According to his merch website, 1,000 pairs of the shoes sold out within the day.
Watch the clip above via SNL on NBC.