'SNL' mocked for their 'woke smugness' after claiming Trump made up the term 'de-banking'

Conservative groups have accused major banks of 'de-banking' them

Lindsay Kornick

NBC’s "Saturday NightLive" was mocked after suggesting the term "de-banking" was a made-up word by former President Trump.

During the "Weekend Update" segment, cast member Colin Jost insisted he didn’t know "what the hell ‘de-bank’ means" while commenting on one of Trump's recent speeches.

"Trump did have a slight stumble this week while talking about banks, and he introduced an interesting new term called de-bank," Jost said. "I don't know what the hell de-bank means, but you might have to take ‘de-ambulance’ to see ‘de-doctor.’"

However, de-banking, or de-risking, is a real term used to refer to banks closing people or organizations’ accounts, sometimes without appeal, after perceiving them to be a legal, financial or reputational threat. 

A "Weekend Update" segment on "Saturday Night Live" claimed Trump came up with "de-bank" during a speech. (Will Heath/NBC via Getty Images)

The clip went viral as social media users mocked the show for not understanding an increasingly prevalent term.

"The woke smugness from SNL is out of control," conservative commentator Steve Guest wrote.

The woke smugness from SNL is out of control. https://t.co/K6lqzNPEfg

— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) January 28, 2024

Twitchy’s Doug Powers commented, "SNL’s in such a hurry to dunk on Trump that they made themselves look like idiots again."

SNL’s in such a hurry to dunk on Trump that they made themselves look like idiots again. https://t.co/4nu4OpSWL1 pic.twitter.com/KY4hk9F33I

— Doug Powers (@ThePowersThatBe) January 28, 2024

"That’s pretty embarrassing for SNL," attorney Casey Mattox wrote.

That’s pretty embarrassing for SNL. https://t.co/Ep1SxYowwL

— Casey Mattox (@CaseyMattox_) January 28, 2024

California State Senate candidate Michael Oxford explained, "This is similar to when Dennis Prager said they are putting tampons in men’s bathrooms, and Bill Maher‘s entire audience laughed at him. The left doesn’t realize what’s happening, until it’s too late. Then their cognitive dissonance forces them to justify why it’s a good thing."

This is similar to when Dennis Prager said they are putting tampons in men’s bathrooms, and Bill Maher‘s entire audience laughed at him.

The left doesn’t realize what’s happening, until it’s too late.

Then their cognitive dissonance forces them to justify why it’s a good thing. https://t.co/240vBF5K15

— Michael Oxford - Santa Cruz Mountain Goat (@SCMountainGoat) January 28, 2024

The term has grown more popular in recent years following the freezing or outright seizing of accounts of protesters from the Canadian Freedom Convoy protests in 2022.

The process went international after former Brexit leader Nigel Farage accused the UK bank Coutts of closing his account based on his politics. While the bank claimed that the decision was because Farage had fallen below the financial threshold, the Daily Telegraph, a British newspaper, reported that a memo showed Coutts also decided that Farage's views did "not align" with the bank.

In 2023, the Tennessee-based Christian organization Indigenous Advanced Ministries accused the Bank of America of "de-banking" their accounts due to their religious views. In April, the nonprofit was warned that it was "operating in a business type we have chosen not to service at Bank of America." By May, Bank of America sent another letter claiming that its "risk profile no longer aligns with the bank's risk tolerance."

Bank of America insisted to Fox News Digital that the closure was due to its "internal debt collection policy," though the bank has not provided the group or Fox News Digital with a copy of this policy. 

"I am concerned that Bank of America canceled our and our partners' accounts because it disagrees with our religious views," Indigenous Ministry founder Steve Happ told Fox News Digital.

Lindsay Kornick, Fox News, January 28, 2024 5:00pm EST