SNL’S NEW TRUMP
Baldwin to portray The Donald
It wasn’t clear who would impersonate Donald Trump during the upcoming season of NBC’s Saturday Night Live. We now have our answer and it’s a familiar face: Alec Baldwin.
Trump had previously been impersonated by former cast member Darrell Hammond, and Taran Killam, whose contract wasn’t renewed for the show’s 42nd season.
SNL previewed its mock debate between Baldwin-as-Trump and Kate McKinnon-as-Hillary Clinton.
Baldwin is a longtime friend of the show and has hosted 16 times, more than anyone. He has used the series to showcase comedic chops he didn’t typically display in his other projects — at least until he starred in 30 Rock, which, like SNL, features Lorne Michaels as executive producer.
When Trump hosted SNL last November, the show faced controversy, bad reviews and big ratings.
The show doesn’t usually announce or promote cameos ahead of an episode. But the election is fewer than a couple of months away and political satire is SNL’s bread and butter. Perhaps the show wanted to seize the moment after the presidential debate Monday. It set a record for a political event with 84 million viewers.
SNL has been knocking it out of the park with actors performing cameo political impersonations. Tina Fey won an Emmy for playing Sarah Palin. And Larry David as Bernie Sanders was bafflingly spoton; the comedian had to do so little to play Sanders so perfectly.
But it’s unclear what Baldwin’s take on Trump will be. He doesn’t appear to have performed as Trump publicly before, although he does have a knack for impersonations.