Saturday Night Live parodies of Donald Trump

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The sketch comedy television series Saturday Night Live (SNL) has over the years for almost three decades aired a number of sketches parodying Donald Trump, from his time as a real estate broker, to his popular run as host of The Celebrity Apprentice, and ultimately in his run for United States president in 2016.

Overall, Trump has been portrayed by five SNL performers: Phil Hartman, Darrell Hammond, Jason Sudeikis, Taran Killam and Alec Baldwin. Darrell Hammond has portrayed him most frequently (27 times), originally while in the cast in the late '90s, and then reprising the role in a series of cameos in 2016. The other performers held the role on briefly, with five appearances by Hartman, three by Killam, and only one by Sudeikis.^[1] In September 2016, SNL announced that the role of Trump would next be taken on by Alec Baldwin, who has made many appearances on the series through its run.

SNL has frequently paired parodies of Trump himself with impressions of his wives and children. One of the most important elements of the mimic is an imitation or exaggeration of Trump's signature hairdo.^[2] The 2004 Saturday Night Live episode that combined host Donald Trump with musical guest Toots and the Maytals^[3] (the artist who introduced the term “reggae” in song^[4]) became reference material for the 2015 SNL writers to create a sketch in which the real Donald Trump has Toots Hibbert (played by Kenan Thompson^[5]) mention his interest in becoming Vice-President.^[6]^[7]

Hartman parodies (1988–1990)

Cast member Phil Hartman was the show's first portrayer of Trump, from 1988 until 1990. The sketches skewered various aspects of his life, including Christmas with his wife and various real estate purchases. Ultimately, Hartman portrayed Trump five times.^[1]

Hartman's appearances were almost always paired with Jan Hooks as Trump's then-wife Ivana Trump. Hooks appeared with him in four out of the five sketches.^[8]

Hammond parodies (1999–2012, 2015–2016)

After Hartman's departure from the show in 1995, the role remained vacant for five years until Darrell Hammond succeeded him. Hammond's parodies originally focused on Trump's interest and involvement with politics, and later his appearances on The Apprentice. On April 3, 2004, Trump himself was the show's host, and appeared in a sketch next to Hammond's Trump.

Trump's wife, Melania, was portrayed alongside Hammond's impression twice during his run. Paris Hilton first appeared in the role, then later Molly Shannon (who were both episode hosts at the time of their appearances).^[9] SNL also parodied his children, with Fred Armisen, Seth Meyers, and Maya Rudolph portraying Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Ivanka Trump, respectively.^[10]

Hammond is the show's longest running Trump impersonator. He played the role for ten years in the cast (1999 to 2009), and reprised it twice after leaving (both in 2011). After returning to serve as the show's announcer in 2014, he began regularly reprising his role as Trump beginning in December 2015. Due to the wide field of GOP candidates, the show would need at least one cameo appearance to cover all of the candidates. Rather than have Killam (who had by this point begun playing Trump) remain in the role, he instead portrayed Ted Cruz. SNL had asked alumnus Jimmy Fallon (who had portrayed Trump on his own show) to play the part.^[11] When a last minute change prevented this, Hammond returned to the role. Cecily Strong continued to appear alongside the recast Trump as his wife Melania, who she began portraying across from Killam's Trump.^[9]

Hammond subsequently appeared as Trump in seven more episodes of the season. His appearance in the role was critically acclaimed,^[12] but some outlets reported that the role should be moved to a permanent cast member at some point.^[13]

Sudeikis parody (2012)

Jason Sudeikis appeared in the role once, during a Fox & Friends parody. Sudeikis is the only SNL cast member to appear as Trump in a one-off role.^[14]

Killam parodies (2015)

It was announced prior to the show's 41st season that Taran Killam would be taking over the role for the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Reportedly, several cast members had auditioned for the role.^[15]

Killam's Trump debuted on the October 3, 2015 episode in the cold open. The sketch also featured the first appearance of Cecily Strong as Melania Trump.^[16] The duo reprised the setup and characters on the December 5, 2015 episode as well.^[17]

On the November 7, 2015 episode (with Donald Trump as host), Killam appeared in character alongside the real Trump and Hammond's Trump.^[18] Strong appeared later in the episode (opposite the real Trump) as Melania.^[19]

For the December 19, 2015 episode (co-hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler), SNL lacked enough cast members the portray all of the GOP candidates in a debate sketch. As a result, Jimmy Fallon was asked to return in the role of Trump (which he had played many times on The Tonight Show) so that Killam could portray Ted Cruz instead. Ultimately, that plan fell through at the last minute, and Hammond instead played Trump in the debate.

Hammond continued to play Trump for the remainder of the season (even in sketches where Cruz was absent, and ultimately after Cruz dropped out of the race). Killam's contract was terminated early after that season, with some news sources alleging that being replaced as Trump was part of the reason.^[20]

Baldwin parodies (2016–present)

On September 28, 2016, SNL announced that Baldwin would replace Hammond in portraying Trump in its parodies of the 2016 presidential debates.^[21] He will be the first man to portray Trump who had never been an SNL cast member.

Episode 1

Baldwin's Trump debuted in the October 1, 2016 episode, opposite Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton and Michael Che as debate moderator Lester Holt.^[22] The sketch mocked some of Trump's pronunciations, such as "China" and "huge", as well as his sniffling during the first presidential debate. Baldwin (as Trump) also delivered the show's opening line.

Later in the episode, the rest of the Trump family also received new impressionists (barring Melania Trump, who continues to be played by Cecily Strong). Host Margot Robbie replaced Vanessa Bayer as Ivanka Trump for the Family Feud sketch. New cast members Mikey Day and Alex Moffat appeared in the sketch as Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump respectively,^[23] replacing their 2005 portrayals by Seth Meyers and Fred Armisen.^[10]

Strong reprised her role as Melania later in the episode, in a new "Melania Moment" segment.^[24]

Episode 2

The season's second episode opened up the premise of the Vice Presidential Debate, featuring Beck Bennett as Trump's running mate Mike Pence. The encore airing of the debate was quickly "pre-empted" by breaking news of the Donald Trump and Billy Bush recording controversy. Alongside Cecily Strong as CNN host Brooke Baldwin, Trump commented on his statements in the leaked audio tape, saying that if given the chance, "[he] could do so much more than grab them".^[25] McKinnon's Clinton also appeared in the sketch, gloating over her now apparent victory but insisting that he stay in the race. Baldwin once again delivered the show's opening line.

Later in the episode, Kate McKinnon reprised her role as Trump's campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, in a sketch where she must repeatedly defend Trump's increasingly ridiculous statements on her day off.^[26] Strong also returned as Melania Trump for another "Melania Moment" sketch.^[27]

Episode 3

The third episode featured another presidential debate parody, with Baldwin and McKinnon returning as Trump and Clinton, respectively. Alex Moffat and Cecily Strong portrayed debate moderators Anderson Cooper and Martha Raddatz. The sketch parodied Trump's movement around Clinton during the actual debate, set to the suspenseful theme music from Jaws (film). After telling his supporters to vote on "November 35th", he and McKinnon opened the show again.^[28]

Later in the episode, Baldwin and Strong appeared again as Donald and Melania Trump, in a parody of Beyoncé's Lemonade. Host Emily Blunt portrayed Ivanka Trump, replacing Margot Robbie and Vanessa Bayer in the role. Bayer appeared as Trump's youngest daughter Tiffany Trump, while Sasheer Zamata portrayed Omarosa. McKinnon and Bennett also returned as Conway and Pence.

Strong continued to appear as Trump's wife in another "Melania Moment" sketch.

Trump reacted negatively to the episode on Twitter, saying that Baldwin's portrayal "stinks", and that it was "time to retire the boring and unfunny show."^[29]^[30]