Celebrities
‘SNL’ is the real winner of the 2016 presidential race
There is less than a month until America elects its new leader. And while this particular election cycle has been — in a word — bonkers, people across this great nation can still rely on one place to present the clear and honest discourse in the guise of sketch comedy: “Saturday Night Live.”
Laughter is the best medicine, after all. So what better way to deal with this year’s political train wreck than to watch Kate McKinnon and Alec Baldwin bring Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump to life?
RELATED: Is Alec Baldwin’s Trump impression the best ‘SNL’ has ever seen?
With over four decades of laughter under its belt, “SNL” has proven to be a sketch comedy juggernaut. And while some seasons have been more miss than hit, one constant remains true: Lorne Michaels’ lineup of presidential impressionists have always been pretty great.
Chevy Chase as Gerald Ford
Using an accidental fall as a jumping off point, Chevy Chase got the presidential ball rolling with his take on President Gerald Ford. Portraying the former president as an accident prone dimwit, it’s hard not to laugh when Chase takes one prat fall after another. In fact, Ford himself loved the performance enough that he invited Chase to play golf with him on more than one occasion.
Phil Hartman as Ronald Reagan
Phil Hartman took up the Ronald Reagan reigns after Dan Aykroyd left the show. His portrayal of our former jelly bean loving president was brilliantly layered. Portraying himself as a cuddly soft spoken oaf for the public eye, as soon as the cameras turned off, Hartman switched to a version of Reagan that’d probably be found arm wrestling Gorbachev behind closed doors.
Dana Carvey as George H.W. Bush
Dana Carvey’s take on President Bush was so iconic, the public began quoting the dialog from his sketches as if the president uttered the words himself. You know you’re doing a good job when the Commander in Chief up and quotes you in a speech. Carvey’s performance outlasted the four years Bush was in office as he’s reprised the impression multiple times over the years.
RELATED: ‘Saturday Night Live’s’ new Donald Trump impressionist is… Hillary Clinton?
Darrell Hammond as Bill Clinton
For the past 17 years, Darrell Hammond has been doing Bill Clinton. He’s got the confident squint and the thumb usage down pat. It’s safe to even say that Hammond’s Clinton impression is the gold standard of Bill Clinton impressions. And with Alec Baldwin taking over as Donald Trump this year, Hammond is bringing an old favorite back out to play.
Will Ferrell as George W. Bush
Will Ferrell helped to bring “SNL” back from some lackluster doldrums in the late ’90s. And when George W. Bush became president, the actor found new purpose on the sketch series. He may have left the program in 2002, but his take on W. has resurfaced in appearances both on and off the NBC show.
Jay Pharoah as Barack Obama
It’s hard to know how “SNL” will take on Barack Obama moving forward now that Jay Pharoah isn’t a part of the show. Proving he’s a worthy player in the world of comedic impressionists, Pharoah’s Obama was pretty spot on in delivery. The added swagger was icing on the proverbial (presidential) cake.