Tom Hanks’ ‘SNL’ Appearance Mocking MAGA Sparks Anger

om Hanks’ portrayal of a Donald Trump supporter for Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary has outraged MAGA supporters, with many accusing the Hollywood actor of being “tone deaf.”

Why It Matters

Since the first episode aired on NBC on October 11, 1975, SNL has always targeted politicians of the political spectrum though satire.

Much of the Hollywood industry has been at odds with President Donald Trump’s politics, and some movie stars have not been shy to express their opposition. Whether this has had influence on the wider population is unclear, but MAGA supporters have often criticized what they see as an out-of-touch elite.

What to Know

For SNL’s 50th anniversary three-hour live special episode, Hanks brought back the character of Doug, a Trump-loving conservative who first appeared in a 2016 sketch. Wearing a jeans jacket over an American Eagle shirt and donning a Make America Great Again red hat, Hanks took part in “Black Jeopardy!” a recurring SNL sketch.

“Welcome to ‘Black Jeopardy,’ the only ‘Jeopardy’ where every single viewer fully understood Kendrick’s halftime performance,” host Kenan Thompson/Darnell Hayes said, referring to Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show at the Super Bowl.

As in the 2016 sketch, game participant Hanks/Doug refused to shake Thompson’s hand. “Don’t like that, woah, woah, woah,” Hanks said, speaking in a southern drawl, before agreeing to shake Thompson’s hand. “Maybe I’ll start a show for you to come and we’ll call it ‘White Jeopardy,'” Hanks said. “We don’t need it. We don’t need it,” Thompson said.

The sketch angered MAGA supporters, who found Hank’s interpretation of a Trump voter out of line. Mario Nawfal, host of The Roundtable Show, wrote on social media platform X dubbed the sketch of “Tom Hanks as racist Trump supporter” as SNL’s “tone-deaf moment” and said that it fell flat.

“Hollywood still doesn’t get it: Portraying Trump supporters as racist caricatures while he’s winning record minority support. SNL’s trying 2016 jokes in 2025,” he added.

What People Are Saying

Link Lauren, former senior adviser to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who is now secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, wrote on X: “Tom Hanks just came out on SNL in a MAGA hat for a bit where he acted like he didn’t want to shake a Black man’s hand. This show wonders why their ratings are in the gutter. Trump won the popular vote. This tired trope that MAGA is racist is disgusting. SNL is an unfunny show for snobbish liberal elites.”

Benny Johnson, host of the The Benny Show, wrote on X: “SNL decided it was a good idea to depict Tom Hanks as a ‘Racist Trump Supporter’ in a MAGA Hat afraid to shake a Black man’s hand. Donald Trump just won a landslide election and has never been more popular with Americans. They have learned nothing.”

MAGA supporter Sara Rose wrote on X: “Tom Hanks went on SNL dressed like a slob mocking millions of Trump supporters—portraying them as dumb, racist, rednecks. Keep it up libs. You’ll never win another election again.”

X user Seven wrote on X: “Who knew so many people who not only hate SNL and Tom Hanks would suddenly decide to watch it? Interesting.”

I’myourhuckleberry wrote on X: “Hey MAGA could you cry a little more over Tom Hanks playing you in an SNL skit? Do you need a safe space?”