Joe Biden mocked by SNL’s Colin Jost for ‘strong warning’ over Israel-Hamas conflict

US president found himself the source of mockery on sketch show

Joe Biden found himself the source of mockery on the latest episode of Saturday Night Live.

The sketch show’s latest instalment, which aired on Saturday (21 October), was hosted by Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny, and saw comedians Colin Jost and Michael Che address the US president’s response to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

On Saturday (7 October), the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched its largest-ever attack on Israel, which killed more than 1,000 people.

In response, Israel has imposed a “total siege” on Gaza, ordering evacuations ahead of an expected ground invasion, which has prompted protests in several cities over the world.

You can follow The Independent’s live coverage here.

In the Weekend Update segment of SNL, Jost mocked Biden for his “strong warning to anyone thinking of attacking Israel”, which was compiled into a video montage of his repeated use of the word “don’t”.

“I really like that Biden only needs one word to get his point across; he’s basically the Groot of presidents,” Jost said.

Groot is a character from the Marvel franchise Guardians of the Galaxy, who is unable to say anything except the phrase: “I am Groot.”

Jost added: “But to give you an idea how effective ‘don’t’ is, it’s the same thing Biden says to his dog right before it bites another Secret Service agent.”

‘SNL’ star Colin Jost mocks Joe Biden (YouTube)

Biden’s decision to describe the Hamas attack as “like 15 9/11s” was also mocked, with Jost stating: “You can’t go somewhere to calm people down and then start rating things in numbers of 9/11. That is not a calm scale.

“It’s like if your doctor gave you Ambien then said, ‘This will make you sleepier than 20 Cosbys.’”

Jost was referring to Bill Cosby, who, according to several testimonies, used sedative drugs to have sex with young women whom he then attempted to pay off.

A lawsuit filed in June 2023 alleged that nine women were individually drugged and assaulted between approximately 1979 and 1992 in Las Vegas, Reno and Lake Tahoe homes, dressing rooms and hotels.