President Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson) crashed a New York City mayoral debate between candidates Zohran Mamdani (Ramy Youssef), Andrew Cuomo (Miles Teller) and Curtis Sliwa (Shane Gillis) and parodied “Phantom of the Opera” in tonight’s star-studded “Saturday Night Live” cold open.
Journalist Errol Lewis (Kenan Thompson) became “officially the least famous person to be impersonated on ‘SNL’” in order to moderate the debate, which began with introductions from the three candidates. “Hello. You all know me. I got us through COVID, and then yada yada yada, honk, honk, squeeze, squeeze,” Teller’s Cuomo announced. “Anyway, I’m back. I am a born-and-bred New Yorker. I love it here. I know this city like the back of a woman’s back.”
“I’m ready to spend the next hour hearing my opponents pronounce my name in ways you couldn’t begin to imagine,” Youssef’s Zohran said. “Some of you out there are scared of the idea of a young socialist Muslim mayor, so allow me to put you at ease by smiling after every answer in a way that physically hurts my face.” Gillis’ Sliwa, meanwhile, said he was just happy to be there and not “getting shot in the back of a yellow cab five times.”
The three candidates each tried to win voters over to their sides. “SNL” Season 51 rookie Kam Patterson showed up as current New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who endorsed Teller’s Cuomo, much to the latter’s chagrin. Later, Youssef’s Mamdani told viewers, “I want to be mayor so I can deliver a better New York. Free health care, affordable housing, free Wi-Fi. As mayor, can I make that happen? I’m not sure yet. But together, we’re going to find out the answer is no.”
You can watch the cold open yourself in the video below.
the third, final, and fictional NYC mayoral debate pic.twitter.com/GFZ2cTM9Cc
— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) November 2, 2025
As for why voters should elect him, Youssef’s Mamdani turned straight to camera as a heart filter surrounded his face. “My message is this: Hey, girl. I know you got a little white guilt for gentrifying that Spanish neighborhood, don’t you?” the mayoral candidate said. “Why don’t you vote for me? You know you’d feel a little less bad about that chicken and rice shop getting turned into a Sweetgreen. Why don’t you hit me up at the ballot box, girl?”
In response, Thompson’s Lewis told Youssef’s Mamdani he had been warned that the debate was “not the forum for your TikTok-ery.” When Lewis then asked the three candidates what they think the biggest problem facing New York is, they were all interrupted by Johnson’s Trump, who slid onto stage to announce, “It’s me! Yes, they can pretend this election is about housing and taxes, but we all know it’s about me, right?”
“I’m going to be very involved, very hands-on,” Johnson’s Trump promised. “I may not live in New York anymore. But I’m always watching, lurking in the shadows, much like the late, great Phantom of the Opera. Terrible, what happened to him in terms of opera, with regard to being burned by chandelier. Perhaps I’ll add New York Mayor to my list of duties…”
To prove his point, Johnson’s Trump proceeded to hold up a partial white mask and perform a brief rendition of “The Music of the Night” from, you guessed it, “The Phantom of the Opera.”
