"SNL" predicted this: Eric Trump inadvertently spills the beans on his unethical relationship with his father

Alex Moffatt's depiction of Eric Trump as a simpleton who accidentally tells the truth was sharper than we thought

By Matthew Rozsa

Staff Writer

Published March 24, 2017 6:20PM (EDT)

 (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

Eric Trump just made a blunder predicted by "Saturday Night Live" earlier this month.

In a March 4 skit, "Saturday Night Live" comedian Alex Moffatt depicted President Donald Trump's third child as a simpleton who can't help but clumsily disclose how ethically inappropriate his family's business ties are now that his father occupies the White House. When Trump's other son, Donald Jr. (played by Mikey Day), discusses the Trump Organization with "Weekend Update" host Colin Jost, Donald Jr. confidently proclaims that "the only people making decisions regarding the Trump Organization are Eric and myself."

"And Dad!" Moffat's Eric interjects.

"No no," Donald Jr. says, attempting a bit of damage control. "Remember, Eric? Dad does not tell us what to do anymore!"

"Yeah he does," Eric casually responds. Fortunately for Donald Jr. and his father, Eric is quickly distracted when Donald Jr. lets him play on his phone.

Unfortunately for the real Eric, Donald Jr. wasn't there to bail him out when he made almost the exact same blunder in an interview with Forbes magazine published on Friday.

The eldest Trump son started out well enough, telling Forbes, "I do not talk about the government with him, and he does not talk about the business with us," referring to his father. "That’s kind of a steadfast pact we made, and it’s something that we honor."

Very shortly afterward, however, his younger brother accidentally told the truth.

Eric admitted that he does discuss "the bottom line, profitability reports and stuff like that, but you know, that’s about it" with his father. When asked about the regularity with which he does so, Eric said, "depending, yeah, depending," before clarifying (after being asked whether it might be quarterly), "yeah, probably quarterly.”

Eric capped off the remarkable exchange with a boast that could have come out of Moffatt's mouth: "My father and I are very close. I talk to him a lot. We’re pretty inseparable."

It's worth noting that shortly after the skit aired, Donald Jr. posted an Instagram photograph ridiculing the characterization of his brother as a simpleton who eats Cheerios from a bBaggie and struggles to open a Capri Sun juice pouch.


Do you think the Trumps are still laughing now?


By Matthew Rozsa

Matthew Rozsa is a professional writer whose work has appeared in multiple national media outlets since 2012 and exclusively at Salon since 2016. He received a Master's Degree in History from Rutgers-Newark in 2012, was a guest on Fox Business in 2019, repeatedly warned of Trump's impending refusal to concede during the 2020 election, spoke at the Commonwealth Club of California in 2021, was awarded a science journalism fellowship from the Metcalf Institute in 2022 and appeared on NPR in 2023. His diverse interests are reflected in his interviews including: President Jimmy Carter (1977-1981), Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak (1999-2001), animal scientist and autism activist Temple Grandin, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (1997-2001), director Jason Reitman ("The Front Runner"), inventor Ernő Rubik, comedian Bill Burr ("F Is for Family"), novelist James Patterson ("The President's Daughter"), epidemiologist Monica Gandhi, theoretical cosmologist Janna Levin, voice actor Rob Paulsen ("Animaniacs"), mRNA vaccine pioneer Katalin Karikó, philosopher of science Vinciane Despret, actor George Takei ("Star Trek"), climatologist Michael E. Mann, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (2013-present), dog cognition researcher Alexandra Horowitz, Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson (2012, 2016), comedian and writer Larry Charles ("Seinfeld"), seismologist John Vidale, Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Lieberman (2000), Ambassador Michael McFaul (2012-2014), economist Richard Wolff, director Kevin Greutert ("Saw VI"), model Liskula Cohen, actor Rodger Bumpass ("SpongeBob Squarepants"), Senator John Hickenlooper (2021-present), Senator Martin Heinrich (2013-present), Egyptologist Richard Parkinson, Rep. Eric Swalwell (2013-present), Fox News host Tucker Carlson, actor R. J. Mitte ("Breaking Bad"), theoretical physicist Avi Loeb, biologist and genomics entrepreneur William Haseltine, comedian David Cross ("Scary Movie 2"), linguistics consultant Paul Frommer ("Avatar"), Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (2007-2015), computer engineer and Internet co-inventor Leonard Kleinrock and right-wing insurrectionist Roger Stone.

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Donald Trump Eric Trump Saturday Night Live Trump Organization Video