Following a report in The New York Times about a White House meeting where Elon Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had clashed in front of President Trump, it was up to “Saturday Night Live” to imagine how they might make peace — and to let us listen in on their inner monologues.

This week’s “S.N.L.” broadcast, for which Lady Gaga was both the host and the musical guest, began with a voice-over that described the conflict between Musk and Rubio as a stain on “an otherwise remarkably cool and smooth start to the Trump presidency.”

Inside the Oval Office stood James Austin Johnson, in his recurring role as President Trump, and Marcello Hernández, playing Rubio.

Johnson said he forgave Hernández for “being under a lot of stress,” but told him, “I need you to be my good little Marco.”

“If you think I’m going to stand here and let you call me that,” Hernández replied, “you’re right.”

Johnson added, “Unfortunately, I just made English the official language. So now your name is Mark Ruby.”

Hernández said he objected to Musk “having total access to our government,” but Johnson praised the billionaire for his management of SpaceX, which he said was “doing incredible things in terms of explosions, and with regard to rocket debris.”

When Hernández said that a businessman shouldn’t necessarily be running the country, Johnson answered, “You’re right. We tried that in 2016 it didn’t work. Trump 45, not a great president. But now we’ve got Trump 47. I’m older, wiser and frankly, older.”

Johnson went on to tell Hernández he was doing a great job. “You’re the goat,” Johnson said. “You’re the scapegoat. But it’s still a type of goat.”

Hernández said that he was close to striking a deal with the Panamanian government to regain control of the Panama Canal, but Johnson said he didn’t want it anymore. “What I’d really love is Thailand,” Johnson said.

While he continued to ramble on about “The White Lotus,” the camera zoomed in on Hernández, letting us hear inside his head, where the theme to “Curb Your Enthusiasm” was playing.

In return, Hernández spoke about American foreign policy, while the camera zoomed in on a bored Johnson, allowing us to hear him think to himself: “What is this?” he said. “I’m thinking something and not saying it out loud.” He added: “I should do this more often. I won’t, but I should.”

They were joined by Mike Myers, the “S.N.L.” alum, reprising his role as Musk, who variously tented his fingers and ran in place. (“It’s his little dance, we let him do it,” Johnson explained. “It’s his least unsettling trait.”)

When we could hear inside Myers’s thoughts, we heard him say, “Phase 1 of my plan is complete: ingratiate yourself to the president and take over the media.” But there were downsides as well: “My Tesla stock is crashing and my personal net worth just dropped by $100 billion.” As these words were said, Myers put a finger to his mouth, Dr. Evil-style.

Offering some final advice, Johnson said, “Elon, stay in your lane. You’re not the boss.”

Myers replied, “But I paid you $300 million.”

“And that’s why you’re the boss,” Johnson said.