The sketch comedy television series ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

'' (''SNL'') has parodied

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

since 1988, covering his time as a real estate broker to his popular run as host of ''

The Apprentice ''The Apprentice'' is a reality talent game show franchise originally aired in 2004 in the United States. Created by U.S.-based British producer Mark Burnett, the show depicts contestants from around the country with various professional backg ...

'', and during as well as after his presidency. To date, Trump has been portrayed on ''SNL'' by six different performers: Phil Hartman, Darrell Hammond,

Jason Sudeikis Daniel Jason Sudeikis ( ; born September 18, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, producer, and writer. In the 1990s, he began his career in improv comedy and performed with ComedySportz, iO Chicago (Improv Olympic), and The Second City. In 200 ...

, Taran Killam,

Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. In his early career, Baldwin played both leading and supporting roles in a variety of films such as Tim Burton's '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), Mike Nic ...

and

James Austin Johnson James Austin Johnson (born July 19, 1989) is an American comedian and actor originally from Nashville, Tennessee. He has garnered attention for his impression of former President Donald Trump, sometimes being referred to as "the best Trump imp ...

. Hammond portrayed him the longest while in the cast in the late 1990s, and then reprising the role in a series of cameos in 2016. The other cast-members held the role briefly, with five appearances by Hartman, three by Killam, and only one by Sudeikis. The role was played by Baldwin in 46 recurring guest appearances along with one hosting appearance between October 2016 and November 2020, just ahead of the 2016 presidential election, and throughout the

Trump presidency Donald Trump's tenure as the 45th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican from New York City, took office following his Electoral College victory ...

. Johnson took over the role in November 2021, after Trump left the White House. ''SNL'' has frequently paired parodies of Trump with impressions of his wives and children or, since he took office, various staff-members. Trump himself has hosted the show twice, in 2004 and 2015, the latter time as a presidential candidate.

Phil Hartman (1988–1990)

Cast member Phil Hartman was the show's first portrayer of Donald Trump, from 1988 until 1990. Hartman portrayed Trump five times, and was paired with Jan Hooks as Trump's then-wife Ivana Trump or, in one case, Marla Maples, Trump's second-wife-to-be. The first sketch, from December 1988, shows Donald and Ivana celebrating Christmas, giving large, gold and jewel-encrusted presents to each other, in a parody of the

O. Henry William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910), better known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American writer known primarily for his short stories, though he also wrote poetry and non-fiction. His works include "The Gift of the ...

short story, " The Gift of the Magi". The real Trump is seen in the audience at the '' Saturday Night Live 15th Anniversary Special'' from 1989, where

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of '' Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...

spills popcorn on him. A sketch from February 1990 parodies the Ivana Trump divorce. Ivana demands more money since Donald has been unfaithful, but he refutes this by referring to their extensive prenuptial agreement. It states, among other things, that he is entitled to have mistresses provided they are younger than she is, and that she will be paid in giant stone coins. The next episode had Marla Maples and Trump appearing on '' Church Chat''. The couple are referred to as a "Satanic sandwich", and the sketch shows press coverage of their relationship, including a "Best Sex I've Ever Had" headline.

Darrell Hammond (1999–2011, 2015–2016)

Hartman did not appear in Trump-sketches after 1990, and Darrell Hammond's first two portrayals came in 1999. The first sketch had

Ross Perot Henry Ross Perot (; June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019) was an American business magnate, billionaire, politician and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems. He ran an indepe ...

( Cheri Oteri) searching for "a new crazy leader" for the Reform Party, with Trump and

Pat Buchanan Patrick Joseph Buchanan (; born November 2, 1938) is an American paleoconservative political commentator, columnist, politician, and broadcaster. Buchanan was an assistant and special consultant to U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, ...

(

Chris Parnell Thomas Christopher Parnell (; born February 5, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1998 to 2006 and played the role of Dr. Leo Spaceman on ''30 Rock''. In animation, he voices Cyril Figgis ...

) as possible candidates. Their meeting is crashed by a violent Jesse Ventura ( Will Ferrell). In the second sketch, Trump announces that he is running for president and tells the audience, "Eh, don't try to fight it. Alright?" He also introduces his running mate, '' Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' winner

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...

. Hammond resumed playing Trump in 2004, doing so a total of 16 times up to 2011, although he left the cast in 2009. His parodies focused on Trump's interest and involvement with politics, commercials, and his appearances on ''The Apprentice''. Trump hosted the show in April 2004, praising Hammond in his opening monologue and appeared in a sketch next to Hammond's Trump. An early 2005 episode introduced Trump's third wife,

Melania Melania is a feminine given name that derives from the Greek word (melania) meaning "black, dark". People named Melania include: * Melania the Elder (350–410), a Christian saint and an influential figure in the ascetic movement * Melania the ...

( Paris Hilton). Trump brings her home to let his children, Eric Trump ( Fred Armisen),

Donald Trump Jr. Donald John Trump Jr. (born December 31, 1977) is an American political activist, businessman, author, and former television presenter. He is the eldest child of Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021, and his firs ...

(

Seth Meyers Seth Adam Meyers (born December 28, 1973) is an American comedian, writer, producer, actor, and television host. He hosts ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'', a late-night talk show on NBC. Prior to that, he was a cast member and head writer for NB ...

), and Ivanka Trump (

Maya Rudolph Maya Rudolph (born July 27, 1972) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. In 2000, she became a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''), and later played supporting roles in the films ''50 First Dates'' ...

), "meet their new mommy". Melania would be portrayed later by Molly Shannon and, from 2015 and onward (without Hammond), by Cecily Strong. 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 in 2011. In the 2011 sketches Trump involves himself in the upcoming

Republican Party presidential primaries Presidential primaries have been held in the United States since 1912 to nominate the Republican presidential candidate. 1912 This was the first time that candidates were chosen through primaries. President William Taft ran to become the nomin ...

and questions President Obama's birth certificate. After returning to serve as the show's announcer in 2014, he began reprising his role as Trump regularly, beginning in December 2015. Due to the wide field of GOP candidates in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the show needed at least one cameo appearance to cover all of the candidates. Taran Killam, who at this point had begun playing Trump, switched to portraying

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas fro ...

. ''SNL'' had asked alumnus

Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an American comedian, television host, actor, and writer. He is known for his work in television as a cast member on '' Saturday Night Live'' and as the host of the late-night talk show ''The To ...

(who had portrayed Trump on his own show) to play the part. When a last minute change prevented this, Hammond returned to the role. Cecily Strong, who had portrayed Melania opposite Killam's Trump, continued in this role alongside Hammond. Hammond subsequently appeared as Trump in seven more episodes of the season. His appearance in the role was critically acclaimed, but some outlets reported that the role should be moved to a permanent cast member at some point.

Jason Sudeikis (2012)

appeared in the role once, during a '' Fox & Friends'' parody. Sudeikis' Trump comments on Barack Obama's handling of

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...

Taran Killam (2015)

It was announced prior to the show's forty-first 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. Killam's Trump debuted on the October 2015 sketch "A Message From Donald & Melania Trump", which also introduced Cecily Strong as Melania Trump. The message is sent from "our humble gold house", and Donald presents himself as "the man who's almost certainly your next president". The couple praise Donald's qualities as a person and a politician, although he becomes uncomfortable when she claims that he "was Democrat before he was Republican". The duo reprised the setup and characters in December, wishing viewers a Merry Christmas and presenting a "Naughty and Nice" list. Donald placed Santa on the "naughty" list since he does not trust anybody who can fly over a wall. Donald Trump hosted ''SNL'' a second time in November 2015, and Killam and Hammond appeared during the opening monologue alongside him. Since Trump was running for president, his appearance triggered the equal-time rule, so his opponents received free air time on NBC affiliate stations. Trump appeared in a sketch portraying him as an incredibly successful president in 2018. Cecily Strong parodied Melania, and Trump's daughter Ivanka appeared in a cameo. Trump ends the sketch by telling the audience that his ''actual'' presidency would be even better. Trump is one of 17 presidential candidates who have appeared on ''Saturday Night Live'', and the only American President to have hosted the show. Killam later expressed regret and shame for what he referred to as "normalizing" Trump's candidacy. For the December 19, 2015 episode, ''SNL'' lacked enough cast members to portray all of the GOP candidates in a debate sketch. As a result,

was asked to return in the role of Trump (which he had played many times on ''The Tonight Show'') so that Killam could portray

instead. Ultimately, that plan fell through at the last minute, and instead, Hammond played Trump in the debate. Hammond continued to play Trump for the remainder of the season. Killam's contract was terminated early after that season, with some news sources alleging that being replaced as Trump was part of the reason.

Alec Baldwin (2016–2020)

In September 2016, ''SNL'' announced that

would replace Hammond in portraying Trump in its parodies of the

2016 presidential debates Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17 *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * ''Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film dir ...

. Hammond had not expected this, and was very shaken by the replacement. Baldwin continued portraying Trump through 2020. Unlike his predecessors, he has never been a cast-member, but as of February 2017 he has hosted the show 17 times, more than anyone else. Baldwin received a Critics' Choice Award and a

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

for his portrayal of Trump.

Before the 2016 election

Baldwin's Trump debuted in the October 1, 2016 episode, opposite Kate McKinnon as

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

and Michael Che as debate moderator Lester Holt. The sketch was based on the first presidential debate between Clinton and Trump. The episode also included impressions of members of Trump's family in a parody of the game show '' Family Feud''. Further sketches with Baldwin included elements of the other presidential debates, the vice presidential debate, and the ''Access Hollywood'' tape. The October 15 episode featured a parody of the third presidential debate. Later in the episode, Baldwin and Cecily Strong appeared as Donald and Melania Trump, in a parody of

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

's ''Lemonade''. Host Emily Blunt portrayed Ivanka Trump, and Vanessa Bayer appeared as Trump's youngest daughter Tiffany Trump. Trump reacted negatively to this episode on Twitter, saying that Baldwin's portrayal "stinks", and that it was "time to retire the boring and unfunny show."

After the 2016 election

Post-election sketches have included Baldwin's Trump meeting with people such as the

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: app ...

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts ...

(

), and

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

( Beck Bennett), with humor drawn from the

2016 United States election interference by Russia The Russian government interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election with the goals of harming the campaign of Hillary Clinton, boosting the candidacy of Donald Trump, and increasing political and social discord in the United States. Acco ...

. In February 2017, it was reported that the show has had strong viewer ratings since the election. Several people who work closely with Trump have been frequently parodied. These include

Counselor to the President Counselor or counsellor may refer to: A professional In diplomacy and government * Counsellor of State, senior member of the British royal family to whom the Monarch can delegate some functions in case of unavailability * Counselor (dip ...

Kellyanne Conway (Kate McKinnon),

White House Chief Strategist Stephen Kevin Bannon (born November 27, 1953) is an American media executive, political strategist, and former investment banker. He served as the White House's chief strategist in the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump during the ...

Steve Bannon (

Mikey Day Michael William Day (born March 20, 1980) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the host of the Netflix show '' Is It Cake?'' He joined '' Saturday Night Live'' as a writer in its 39th season, became a featured player in ...

) with a Grim Reaper-like appearance, White House Press Secretaries

Sean Spicer Sean Michael Spicer (born September 23, 1971) is a former American political aide who served as the 30th White House Press Secretary and as White House Communications Director under President Donald Trump in 2017. Spicer was communications dire ...

( Melissa McCarthy), and Sarah Huckabee Sanders ( Aidy Bryant), and

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

Jeff Sessions (Kate McKinnon).

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...

was portrayed by Beck Bennett, and Trump's sons Eric and Donald Jr. by

Alex Moffat Alexander Everett Moffat (; born March 25, 1982) is an American actor and comedian. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live''. He started as a featured player in 2016 and became a main cast member in 2018. Moffat left ''SNL'' in 2022, aft ...

and

respectively. Elder daughter Ivanka Trump was also featured, as portrayed by Scarlett Johansson, though she has also been portrayed by Margot Robbie. Other parodies of people associated with the Trump Administration post-election included

Jared Kushner Jared Corey Kushner (born January 10, 1981) is an American businessman and investor. He served as a senior advisor to 45th U.S. president Donald Trump, his father-in-law. Since leaving the White House, Kushner founded Affinity Partners, a priv ...

(

), an unmasked Steve Bannon (

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on '' Saturday Nig ...

), Michael Cohen ( Ben Stiller),

Brett Kavanaugh Brett Michael Kavanaugh ( ; born February 12, 1965) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on July 9, 2018, and has served since O ...

( Matt Damon),

Robert Mueller Robert Swan Mueller III (; born August 7, 1944) is an American lawyer and government official who served as the sixth director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2001 to 2013. A graduate of Princeton University and New York ...

(

Robert de Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 19 ...

(Kate McKinnon),

Paul Manafort Paul John Manafort Jr. (; born April 1, 1949) is an American lobbyist, political consultant, and Lawyer, attorney. A long-time Republican Party (United States), Republican Party campaign consultant, he chaired the Donald Trump 2016 presidential ...

(Alex Moffat), and

Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and retired attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky and the Senate minority leader since 2021. Currently in his seventh term, McCon ...

(Beck Bennett). Trump tweeted his displeasure with the show in November, December, and January, saying "Totally biased, not funny and the Baldwin impersonation just can't get any worse." and "NBCNews is bad but Saturday Night Live is the worst of NBC. Not funny, cast is terrible, always a complete hit job. Really bad television!". In January 2017, ''SNL'' writer

Katie Rich Katie Rich is an American comedian, writer, producer and actress best known for her work on '' Saturday Night Live''. Early life Rich was raised on the south side of Chicago, where she attended the grammar school St. Bede's, until her family mo ...

was suspended from the show after she wrote a joking tweet saying that Trump's youngest son, Barron, would become "this country's first home school shooter." The tweet provoked significant outrage, and Rich apologized, calling it "inexcusable". '' El Nacional'', a Dominican newspaper, mistakenly published Baldwin's picture instead of Trump's in February 2017. The paper quickly apologized. In June 2021, after Trump had left office, it was reported that while Trump was in office he had inquired if the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...

or the

United States Justice Department The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

could force ''SNL'' to stop portraying him. Trump denied that he has ever made such an inquiry, but claimed that his portrayal by ''SNL'' "should be considered an illegal campaign contribution from the Democrat Party." He also criticized Baldwin's portrayal of him, but praised Darrell Hammond's portrayal. Baldwin last appeared as Trump in November 2020, declaring that he had won the

2020 United States presidential election The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala H ...

James Austin Johnson (2021–)

''SNL'' cast member

began portraying Trump in November 2021, season 47. His portrayal received positive reviews. Megan Garber of ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'' called his portrayal of Trump "deeply skillful" and

Tara Palmeri Tara Palmeri (born September 1, 1987) is an American journalist. She is currently the Senior Political Correspondent for subscription news platform Puck. Previously, she served as Chief National Correspondent at ''Politico'' and host and chief ...

of ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...

'' said it was "an uncanny likeness — better than any Trump impression we’ve seen — that captures not only his mannerisms and vocal tics, but his jigsaw-like thought pattern as he speaks". Johnson has noted that Trump has been in the public spotlight a long time, and that Trump's voice has changed noticeably over the years, which affects Johnson's contemporary impression of him. ''SNL''-alumnus

described the impression as stream of consciousness.

References

{{Donald Trump 2016 United States presidential election in popular culture 2020 United States presidential election in popular culture American political satire Cultural depictions of presidents of the United States Donald Trump in popular culture Parodies of Donald Trump Trump, Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Donald