Alec Baldwin Brings Trump Impression to SNL's 'Weekend Update'
Amagansett’s Alec Baldwin brought his popular Donald Trump impression back to television this week on Thursday’s Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update hosted by Michael Che and Montauk homeowner Colin Jost.
The sketch, which served as a sort of cold open for the satirical weekly news show, featured Baldwin as Trump during his somewhat unhinged, August 22 rally in Phoenix, Arizona. The real-life rally came just 10 days after the tragedy in Charlottesville and the massive controversy over the President’s remarks about the event. The real Trump took some time to defend his remarks, though he left out the important words “on all sides,” which caused the scandal in the first place.
In the Weekend Update version, Baldwin’s Trump addresses the problem head-on. “As we all know, there was a tragic victim that came out of Charlottesville—me,” he says pointing to himself. He goes on to repeat the first part of his divisive post-Charlottesville comments, adding, “We had a group on one side that is very bad, neo-Nazis, and you had a group on the other side, and then I didn’t say a single word after that.”
He also takes a shot at Trump’s defense of Sheriff Joe Arpaio—who was found guilty of ignoring a court order to stop his racial-profiling tactics against Latinos—and the President’s suggestion he would pardon him. “I know you folks are worried about your great Sheriff Joe, who was recently convicted for arresting people and throwing them in jail merely because they look Latino,” Baldwin’s Trump says, adding the punchline, “How is that a crime I ask you?”
After talking about Afghanistan, the Mexico border wall, “the dishonest media,” the MS-13 gang and more, he brings up Trump’s recently departed chief strategist Steve Bannon—who is regularly portrayed as the Grim Reaper on SNL—to say goodbye.
Reaper Bannon approaches the podium and, after Trump says he’s sorry to see him go, replies, “You’ve only made me more powerful.”
Baldwin’s Trump continues, “He’ll be fighting the good fight against globalist cucks like my son-in-law, Jared. Steve, we love you.” To which Bannon says, “I’m going to crush you.”
Before everything, Baldwin started the sketch wearing sunglasses and talking about how the eclipse could damage one’s eyes. Of course the real Trump took some jabs after he tried to look at the sun while on camera during the astronomical event on Monday. “A lot of people don’t know this, but you can damage your eyes while looking at an eclipse. No one predicted this, they couldn’t have. I figured it out all by myself.”
Following the conclusion of Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update‘s limited, four-episode summer run (Thursdays at 9 p.m.), Baldwin will return as Trump on Saturday Night Live Season 43, which premieres on September 30 at 11:30 p.m. Baldwin’s book about his experience as Trump, You Can’t Spell America Without Me, is due for release on November 7.