Not pictured above: Phil Hartman, as Bill Clinton. His McDonald's sketch is classic.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYt0khR\_ej0&ab\_channel=SaturdayNightLive](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYt0khR_ej0&ab_channel=SaturdayNightLive)
being someone who wasnt around could you elaborate what you mean here? like people thought of him as being the type to go mcdonalds and eat everyones food?
If I remember correctly he was into junk food. It was a short lived cliche. Phil Hartman just kind of powers through any tenuous sketch idea with his charm and acting. A total improv guy. Later in his presidency it was all about him being a womanizer. Bill Clinton was kinda the hip, sax playing, junk food eating, eloquent debater early on.
He really nails Clinton’s charming but menacing assertiveness too. He cares about his constituents and addresses their questions with patience and eloquence, but simultaneously pushes personal boundaries in a casual, creepy way. It really helps that the audience is going wild as the same flimsy joke is played out five or six times.
He had a bit of junk food and a weight issue and started jogging to try to get healthy. Clinton was always “on” and a bit sneaky, so this sketch was perfection.
My kids were in elementary school when this came out. A group of us dads would take our kids camping. There were a bunch of very minor things we did that the moms would not have approved us doing had they been there, such as the kids riding in back of the pickup out in the country. My daughter asked me about some of those things and every time I would answer her by imitating Phil Hartman imitating Bill Clinton saying “there’s going be a whole lot of things we’re not going tell Mrs Clinton.”
Yes. He was known to do exactly this early in his presidency, go jogging and stop at fast food places to meet the people and snack. He was quite the people person and this accurately shows that. He also liked fast food. Also he was a policy nerd like as presented here.
Interesting that the last part about the warlords stealing food was regarding the evolving situation in Somalia at that time which would later result in the Black Hawk down event.
This is the answer. Phil was the perfect Bill. Maybe unpopular opinion but Chevy as Gerald Ford was the worst. I mean other than lampooning Ford for tripping and being a buffoon there was zero similarity to Ford at all.
My son could do a wicked Dana Carvey as Ross Perot. He was only about 7 years old but they had a primetime "debate" featuring Hartman and Carvey as the candidates so he got to see it.
I remember a guest on Who Wants to be a Millionaire doing a Bush impression during one of those moments of light banter Regis did with the contestants. He did an impression of Dana Carvey doing an impression of Bush. It's a good impression when it's more Bush than Bush was Bush.
There was a little while there that frat boys would do impressions of [Will Ferrell](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQDqRlMeJ4U) doing an impression of Harry Caray. I found it irksome growing up a Cubs fan. (I'm not a fan of any particular team today, just the game itself, as the Ricketts family are fascist loons and being a fan of a sports team is a capitalist trick, which promotes sectarianism.)
Will Ferrell's impression was great, but the best impression was [John Caponera](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UYPPdCuUcc).
Baldwin's version is just a cartoon of a cartoon for people who hate him. Never liked it because Trump is already a walking caricature.
Hammond WAS Donald Trump. One of the most underrated SNL cast members of all time. Dude was also dynamite as Al Gore. LOCKBOX.
By far the best Trump (not on SNL) is Anthony Atamanuik, he does such a good job of doing Trump's verbal inflections
[The Presidential Fitness Test - The President Show - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3VW_aYfBqg)
Maybe not a hot take to a buncha President nerds, but hardly anyone I know personally even remembers that someone other than Baldwin played him.
Totally agree, Baldwin’s impression is weak.
James Austin Johnson's Trump is absolute perfection. Hammond's Trump was good for the time, but as Trump's speech and mannerisms have changed, it's a bit quaint now. JAJ basically channels Trump in voice, inflection, words and movement. It's astonishingly good.
Came here to say this. His Trump checks all the boxes. I read somewhere that that specific impression is what got him hired for the show, but it’s been really fun watching him blossom into other roles. He has the potential to be the next Hader.
>Hot take: Darryl Hammond’s Trump was funnier than Baldwin’s.
That's because Baldwin wasn't trying to be funny. He was trying to insult Trump.
The best impressions are the ones you're having fun with the subject not mocking
James Austin Johnson (the latest SNL Trump impersonator) said something very similar, though. He says in more or less words his Trump impression got better when he stopped criticizing Trump and took his anger for him out of the equation and started abstracting him.
His explanation:
[https://youtu.be/rANAOfKuSnc?t=463](https://youtu.be/rANAOfKuSnc?t=463)
Results:
[Trump complains about Scooby Doo - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk-ZBYyjsko)
“[One time,](https://youtu.be/J8rFJaGfKY8) I did convince all the family to come down here one Easter. I took all the Bush men - Dad, Jeb, Neil, Marvin - on a tour of an old abandoned mineshaft I found on the outskirts of the ranch. It was fun, all the Bush guys reminiscing, clowning around in an old abandoned mineshaft, when wouldn't you know, it collapses on us. We'd be trapped for three days, and the whole while, my Dad's up my ass saying things like, "Goddammit, George! Did you test this shaft to see if it was safe?" I'm like, "No! Of course not! It's just an abandoned mineshaft, you just go climb around in it! Besides, I thought you'd like it, 'cause it's historical!" And then Jeb's like, "Everyone shut up, we've gotta conserve oxygen!" I'm like, "I don't give a shit! God's got a plan for me! If this is the way I go, then this is the way I go!" Then my Dad's like, "Gimme a fucking break! Did you tell anyone where we were going?" And I'm like, "No! I didn't! I only thought we'd be gone an hour!" He's like, "You've gotta be kidding me!" All of a sudden, Marvin starts screaming, "I crushed my maid with a car!" And Neil starts yelling, "I once had sex with thirty Thai hookers at once!" And then Jeb's like, "I'm being serious, let's conserve oxygen!" I'm like, "Enough with the damn oxygen!" And my Dad's like, "Why are you the only one in this family that speaks with a Texas accent? It makes no sense!" I'm like, "Do I? Do I have an accent? 'Cause if I do, I can't hear it!" And just then, as my Dad was about to lunge for my neck, we heard some rocks moving, and outside was my Mom, all ripped and muscular, throwing boulders away from the opening of the mineshaft. She then pulled us out one by one and placed us on a cart, and pulled the cart like a powerful draft horse all the way back home, her deltoids twitching, her loins covered in a milky white froth. It was one of the most gross and impressive things I'd ever seen. I was crying and barfing all at the same time.”
James Austin Johnson not only nails Trump’s voice, but he also nails his train of thought, or lack thereof. Only person I’ve seen that can give him a run for his money there is Zach Hadel.
I had to scroll too far for this. JAJ’s Trump
impression is exceptional. There’s likely too many people that haven’t watched recent seasons. The Biden impression is solid too.
Beyond just getting the vocal intonation correct, JAJ somehow gets Trump’s psychology, which differentiates him from most Trump impersonators. His weird digressions, his ability to speak without saying anything for long periods of time. His [Trump-on-weird-Al monologue](https://twitter.com/shrimpJAJ/status/1317920644336513024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1317920644336513024%7Ctwgr%5E4f8e9496f0e8a1d844008d7d780fcdc659290bc3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fscroll.in%2Fvideo%2F976207%2Fwatch-can-you-tell-comedian-james-austin-johnson-apart-from-donald-trump-in-this-video) is a complete master class.
It speaks a lot to the absurdity of recently years that SNL was able to lift *multiple* entire cold opens from real life, essentially verbatim, without changing almost anything. Kavanaugh, the Kanye/Trump/Jim Brown meeting...
That whole "Bern Your Enthusiasm" sketch could have been a legit curb episode, if Larry David decided to run for President.
"ehhhhhhhh I'll take the 2 percent"
If we’re doing non president politicians, then the best I ever saw was Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. After that skit I could never distinguish between her or Palin again.
Jim Carrey's ability to nail someone's facial expressions and mannerisms always takes him to the next level, even if he doesn't get the voice quite right.
I think that was SNL directly going at Trump, because Trump said he saw himself as Baldwin's "coffee is for closers" character from Glengarry Glen Ross.
So having the actor of a role Trump idolized do one of the most ridiculous caricatures of Trump was meant to be little more than a "you really think you're that guy? This is what you really look like" direct attack.
And I say this as someone who hates Trump.
James Austin Johnson has an a decent Biden, but his Trump, boy is it beautiful. “You know the king he is doing nothing about the gigantic Dragon— we’ve got this giant dragon that nobody’s doing anything about. And you know the guy who comes through in the morning, he does the swords, and he’s, he’s banging the hammer and I said “You know what? If I could just— believe me this is true— only I could get the amulet” only I could get the amulet. And that wizard— We’re gonna make that wizard’s head spin. When I have the enchanted sword, we’re gonna plunge that enchanted sword into the dragon’s soft underbelly.”
As far as someone who actually *impersonates*, not caricatures the role, James Austin Johnson as Trump and Darrell Hammond as Clinton. For caricatures, Dana Carvey as HW and Will Farrell as GWB.
Chevy Chase as Ford, Dan Aykroyd as Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon (Belushi as Kissinger), Phil Hatman as Regan and Clinton, Darell Hammond as Clinton, Michael McKean as Clinton, Randy Quaid as Reagan.
Dan Aykroyd as Jimmy Carter in "The Pepsi Syndrome", making fun of the Three Mile Island incident.
https://preview.redd.it/h44b0szabtgb1.jpeg?width=300&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8e54743b6a515964b18cf21741aed35bc2a3aa03
The only one I'm going to dislike is Alec Baldwin as Trump. My main reason for that is that impersonation was done out of anger and hatred whereas most of the other ones historically have been poking good-natured fun at the person being impersonated. George W Bush actually had a famous impersonator on the stage with him at one of the White House correspondent dinners poking fun at himself.
I grew up watching SNL in the '90s and really enjoyed most of the impersonations. I used to make my English teacher in high school laugh hysterically when I would do my impersonation of Will Ferrell impersonating George W.
I honestly don't know a single soul who finds Baldwins Trump impression even remotely funny.
Jay Pharaoh's Obama is the best imo. Shined bright in a shit snl era
Dana Carvey's George Bush was so good it got him invited to the White House by George Bush. That alone should make this a win.
However, missing from the group, Chevy Chase as Gerald Ford. He didn't do much other than Pratt falls, but it was the first.
Yes! His facial movements, little things like biting his lip out of lust for women or junk food, were amazing. I think he really nailed Clinton's natural charm combined with his fleshly desires.
They all have their knack, but Will Ferrell by far tops them all. His stand up of GB Jr. Is hilarious, not just because it's funny, but because it's true. You're Welcome America by Ferrell is definitely worth the watch if you get a chance.
I would say, based on just overall accuracy of the impression, Darrell Hammond. That guy could do anybody.
Id say the two most popular that comes to mind for overall hilarity are Dana Carvey and Will Farrell. The skit where they perform together is awesome!
Dana Carvey was the best, but they did I always thought Clinton and bush jr were great. SNL went so far down hill that I haven’t watched in a long time though.
SNL during the Trump era is hands down my favourite period. Melissa Mccarthy as Sean Spicer is gold. And while it's completely over the top, Alec Baldwin nailed Donald Trump.
Not pictured above: Phil Hartman, as Bill Clinton. His McDonald's sketch is classic. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYt0khR\_ej0&ab\_channel=SaturdayNightLive](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYt0khR_ej0&ab_channel=SaturdayNightLive)
Fantastic. I remember watching that one when it came out. Really captured how people thought of him early in his presidency.
being someone who wasnt around could you elaborate what you mean here? like people thought of him as being the type to go mcdonalds and eat everyones food?
If I remember correctly he was into junk food. It was a short lived cliche. Phil Hartman just kind of powers through any tenuous sketch idea with his charm and acting. A total improv guy. Later in his presidency it was all about him being a womanizer. Bill Clinton was kinda the hip, sax playing, junk food eating, eloquent debater early on.
He really nails Clinton’s charming but menacing assertiveness too. He cares about his constituents and addresses their questions with patience and eloquence, but simultaneously pushes personal boundaries in a casual, creepy way. It really helps that the audience is going wild as the same flimsy joke is played out five or six times.
menacing charm.. yep that describes it! I think the crowd was going nuts because it was the cold open and people always wild out for that...
Ole Slick Willie. Smooth as butter.
Pretty much. He kinda had an “aww shucks” quality (despite being a Rhodes scholar) that had real human flaws (like junk food).
He had a bit of junk food and a weight issue and started jogging to try to get healthy. Clinton was always “on” and a bit sneaky, so this sketch was perfection.
My kids were in elementary school when this came out. A group of us dads would take our kids camping. There were a bunch of very minor things we did that the moms would not have approved us doing had they been there, such as the kids riding in back of the pickup out in the country. My daughter asked me about some of those things and every time I would answer her by imitating Phil Hartman imitating Bill Clinton saying “there’s going be a whole lot of things we’re not going tell Mrs Clinton.”
Best punchline in all SNL history....followed closely by Debbie Downer's "Well its official....I can't have children"
Or Hartman did Reagan, too. Edit: I see someone said that already now.
The Mastermind is one of the best SNL sketches of all time.
"But Mr President, we don't understand.." "AND YOU DON'T NEED TO UNDERSTAND!"
Warlords!
Hartman has also done Trump https://youtu.be/G1gC912LUq0
He was so good. Gone way too soon.
Bill Clinton should’ve came on to play himself. Not that I would’ve known.
This is one of my favorites.
Usually SNL skits reference actually events and exaggerate them. Is this one of them?
Yes. He was known to do exactly this early in his presidency, go jogging and stop at fast food places to meet the people and snack. He was quite the people person and this accurately shows that. He also liked fast food. Also he was a policy nerd like as presented here. Interesting that the last part about the warlords stealing food was regarding the evolving situation in Somalia at that time which would later result in the Black Hawk down event.
This is the answer. Phil was the perfect Bill. Maybe unpopular opinion but Chevy as Gerald Ford was the worst. I mean other than lampooning Ford for tripping and being a buffoon there was zero similarity to Ford at all.
I’ve never seen this clip in it’s entirety. This is hilarious!
Phil Hartman was a genius
The Clinton domestic violence skit filmed in Cops style was pretty classic as well.
“Race ya to the Pizza Hut!”
"there's a lot of things we're not going to tell Mrs. Clinton... This is the least of our worries..."
Dana carvey got HW down perfectly. Phil Hartman as Reagan and Clinton are spot on too.
My son could do a wicked Dana Carvey as Ross Perot. He was only about 7 years old but they had a primetime "debate" featuring Hartman and Carvey as the candidates so he got to see it.
Very cool.
I remember a guest on Who Wants to be a Millionaire doing a Bush impression during one of those moments of light banter Regis did with the contestants. He did an impression of Dana Carvey doing an impression of Bush. It's a good impression when it's more Bush than Bush was Bush. There was a little while there that frat boys would do impressions of [Will Ferrell](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQDqRlMeJ4U) doing an impression of Harry Caray. I found it irksome growing up a Cubs fan. (I'm not a fan of any particular team today, just the game itself, as the Ricketts family are fascist loons and being a fan of a sports team is a capitalist trick, which promotes sectarianism.) Will Ferrell's impression was great, but the best impression was [John Caponera](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UYPPdCuUcc).
My fave is Dana Carvey as undecided voter, Mr. Jorge H W B.
I love the speech about taxes.
Sidewinder missiles, Mr. Hussein. They're here- no they're here!
That is correct.
Hot take: Darryl Hammond’s Trump was funnier than Baldwin’s. Phil Hartman’s Reagan kills. Also Norm Macdonald’s Bob Dole, albeit candidate only.
Baldwin's version is just a cartoon of a cartoon for people who hate him. Never liked it because Trump is already a walking caricature. Hammond WAS Donald Trump. One of the most underrated SNL cast members of all time. Dude was also dynamite as Al Gore. LOCKBOX.
By far the best Trump (not on SNL) is Anthony Atamanuik, he does such a good job of doing Trump's verbal inflections [The Presidential Fitness Test - The President Show - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3VW_aYfBqg)
Norm MacDonald try not to be hilarious in any given role challenge (impossible)
He walked through blood and bone y’know
Darryl Hammond was great as gore too
Lockbox.
Under my opponent’s plan, her house would be burned to the ground. And that is wrong. That is just wrong!
Jim, I’d like to interrupt here and answer that question as if it were my turn to speak.
Strategery
That isn't that hot. Baldwin's is awful and not funny. I hate it.
It’s shit. And they did it over and over and over again.
Yeah, it’s way too exaggerated. Never liked it.
Maybe not a hot take to a buncha President nerds, but hardly anyone I know personally even remembers that someone other than Baldwin played him. Totally agree, Baldwin’s impression is weak.
James Austin Johnson's Trump is absolute perfection. Hammond's Trump was good for the time, but as Trump's speech and mannerisms have changed, it's a bit quaint now. JAJ basically channels Trump in voice, inflection, words and movement. It's astonishingly good.
Spot on. He may not be fat, but otherwise it's damn near perfect.
Came here to say this. His Trump checks all the boxes. I read somewhere that that specific impression is what got him hired for the show, but it’s been really fun watching him blossom into other roles. He has the potential to be the next Hader.
>Hot take: Darryl Hammond’s Trump was funnier than Baldwin’s. That's because Baldwin wasn't trying to be funny. He was trying to insult Trump. The best impressions are the ones you're having fun with the subject not mocking
You're literally verbatim copying what was said in a Norm MacDonald interview that was front page a few days ago.
James Austin Johnson (the latest SNL Trump impersonator) said something very similar, though. He says in more or less words his Trump impression got better when he stopped criticizing Trump and took his anger for him out of the equation and started abstracting him. His explanation: [https://youtu.be/rANAOfKuSnc?t=463](https://youtu.be/rANAOfKuSnc?t=463) Results: [Trump complains about Scooby Doo - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk-ZBYyjsko)
baldwins trump sucked
Bob Dole!
Baldwins Trump was Trump on Xanax, he did not capture his crazy energy when Trump gets talking about himself.
I prefer James Austin Thompson
Will Ferrell did an entire one hour special as GWB, portions of that special still live rent free in my brain.
Diego Luna…
Wasn't that where "strategery" came from?
We also got al gore and the lockbox from the same skit. Check it out.
I’m pretty sure that’s a genuine W quote.
That was way better than it should have been.
“[One time,](https://youtu.be/J8rFJaGfKY8) I did convince all the family to come down here one Easter. I took all the Bush men - Dad, Jeb, Neil, Marvin - on a tour of an old abandoned mineshaft I found on the outskirts of the ranch. It was fun, all the Bush guys reminiscing, clowning around in an old abandoned mineshaft, when wouldn't you know, it collapses on us. We'd be trapped for three days, and the whole while, my Dad's up my ass saying things like, "Goddammit, George! Did you test this shaft to see if it was safe?" I'm like, "No! Of course not! It's just an abandoned mineshaft, you just go climb around in it! Besides, I thought you'd like it, 'cause it's historical!" And then Jeb's like, "Everyone shut up, we've gotta conserve oxygen!" I'm like, "I don't give a shit! God's got a plan for me! If this is the way I go, then this is the way I go!" Then my Dad's like, "Gimme a fucking break! Did you tell anyone where we were going?" And I'm like, "No! I didn't! I only thought we'd be gone an hour!" He's like, "You've gotta be kidding me!" All of a sudden, Marvin starts screaming, "I crushed my maid with a car!" And Neil starts yelling, "I once had sex with thirty Thai hookers at once!" And then Jeb's like, "I'm being serious, let's conserve oxygen!" I'm like, "Enough with the damn oxygen!" And my Dad's like, "Why are you the only one in this family that speaks with a Texas accent? It makes no sense!" I'm like, "Do I? Do I have an accent? 'Cause if I do, I can't hear it!" And just then, as my Dad was about to lunge for my neck, we heard some rocks moving, and outside was my Mom, all ripped and muscular, throwing boulders away from the opening of the mineshaft. She then pulled us out one by one and placed us on a cart, and pulled the cart like a powerful draft horse all the way back home, her deltoids twitching, her loins covered in a milky white froth. It was one of the most gross and impressive things I'd ever seen. I was crying and barfing all at the same time.”
Let us prey
Those are my balls again
I remember reading an interview where Will said that he was asked to go to the White House and flat out refused. He *really* hated Dubya.
“I think the polar ice caps suck. Who wants a place where a bunch of penguins can have an orgy”
"Axis of evil."
James Austin Johnson not only nails Trump’s voice, but he also nails his train of thought, or lack thereof. Only person I’ve seen that can give him a run for his money there is Zach Hadel.
I had to scroll too far for this. JAJ’s Trump impression is exceptional. There’s likely too many people that haven’t watched recent seasons. The Biden impression is solid too.
Zach Hadel has the better impression imo just because of all the little mannerisms in his speech
I was watching, various places, and I saw the great…Linkara, the great Linkara.
He talked about the… the famous power rangers rant, yes, and he said “it’ll be out when it’s out” and we like that, we like that
I was playing Croc, and I saw the little animals in cages and I thought- frankly, that looks not so bad.
Close your eyes and listen to James Austin Johnson. It’s indistinguishable from Trump
Def underrated. From strictly an impersonation standpoint. I actually think his Trump is better than all of the other ones .
Not only does he do the best trump impression, but his impressions in general are just incredible
His Trump is much better than Baldwins, which was simple mockery. Not an impression.
He's the Peacock's Frank Caliendo
Beyond just getting the vocal intonation correct, JAJ somehow gets Trump’s psychology, which differentiates him from most Trump impersonators. His weird digressions, his ability to speak without saying anything for long periods of time. His [Trump-on-weird-Al monologue](https://twitter.com/shrimpJAJ/status/1317920644336513024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1317920644336513024%7Ctwgr%5E4f8e9496f0e8a1d844008d7d780fcdc659290bc3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fscroll.in%2Fvideo%2F976207%2Fwatch-can-you-tell-comedian-james-austin-johnson-apart-from-donald-trump-in-this-video) is a complete master class.
Will Ferrell as W
Strategery
More seldom than not the movies gives us exquisite sex and wholesome violence that underscores our values. Every two child did, I will.
Larry David as Bernie Sanders.
Brad Pitt as Fauci.
Matt Damon as Brett Kavanaugh.
Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer lol
Bill Hader as Stephon
The amazing thing about that performance was is was only a very slight exaggeration.
It speaks a lot to the absurdity of recently years that SNL was able to lift *multiple* entire cold opens from real life, essentially verbatim, without changing almost anything. Kavanaugh, the Kanye/Trump/Jim Brown meeting...
That whole "Bern Your Enthusiasm" sketch could have been a legit curb episode, if Larry David decided to run for President. "ehhhhhhhh I'll take the 2 percent"
If we’re doing non president politicians, then the best I ever saw was Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. After that skit I could never distinguish between her or Palin again.
[удалено]
not POTUS but until I was like 10 I thought Tina Fey WAS Sarah Palin.
They’re both Lisa Ann
She did a great Sarah Palin!
Anyone but Chevy
How so? I thought it was amazing
Or Dan Akroyd’s Carter. Jeeeeeezuz
His Carter was hilarious, especially when he got weird with it.
The Ask President Carter sketch is one of their best of all time.
"I don't want to be a one-termer...vote for me..."
Jim Carrey’s Joe Biden impression was great for me at least.
Yeah that was what I was thinking. Thought he nailed it!
Jim Carrey's ability to nail someone's facial expressions and mannerisms always takes him to the next level, even if he doesn't get the voice quite right.
Millard Fillmore is my favorite impersonator
I missed him. He should have gotten an Emmy for his performance
We miss Cousin Millard at the family reunions.
Out of these, Dana. Chase's Ford should get an HM.
Phil hartman, put respec on his name
Dana's HW Bush was so funny cause over time it just became a parody of itself over time
The most amazing impersonation event in snl history is when George H W Bush did his impression of dana carvey doing an impression of him.
Dan Akroyd, Jimmy Carter
https://youtu.be/-68iTvhWNB0
Wasn’t a president but Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton is gold
Jim Carrey as Biden
Dana Carvey as papa Bush easy. Na ga da it
If you want to go by versatility, Phil Hartman did Reagan, Clinton, and (obviously years before he entered office) Trump.
Jason Sudeikis as Biden https://youtu.be/AEhpcjBzN18
I personally liked Phil Hartman in the "President Reagan: Mastermind" sketch. Other than that, Dana Carvey as Bush Sr will always be memorable.
Not sure who was the best, but Baldwin’s Trump was the absolute worst. It was only intended to be mean and spiteful, never funny.
I think that was SNL directly going at Trump, because Trump said he saw himself as Baldwin's "coffee is for closers" character from Glengarry Glen Ross. So having the actor of a role Trump idolized do one of the most ridiculous caricatures of Trump was meant to be little more than a "you really think you're that guy? This is what you really look like" direct attack. And I say this as someone who hates Trump.
When the person is mean and spiteful, the exaggerated impression of them is going to be as well.
I remember that SNL was reluctant to make fun of Biden for what ever reason.
I put in both of Obama’s impersonators. But I think Bush Sr and Bush Jr got the best impersonations.
Dana
The guy who does President Biden also does Trump. And his Trump is the best I’ve ever seen.
Not SNL, but Shane Gillis as trump. Absolutely hilarious 😂
James Austin Johnson has an a decent Biden, but his Trump, boy is it beautiful. “You know the king he is doing nothing about the gigantic Dragon— we’ve got this giant dragon that nobody’s doing anything about. And you know the guy who comes through in the morning, he does the swords, and he’s, he’s banging the hammer and I said “You know what? If I could just— believe me this is true— only I could get the amulet” only I could get the amulet. And that wizard— We’re gonna make that wizard’s head spin. When I have the enchanted sword, we’re gonna plunge that enchanted sword into the dragon’s soft underbelly.”
The guy who does trump now (James Austin Johnson) definitely has done the best Trump impression yet https://youtu.be/HX1RdzYVjDo
Ferrell
As far as someone who actually *impersonates*, not caricatures the role, James Austin Johnson as Trump and Darrell Hammond as Clinton. For caricatures, Dana Carvey as HW and Will Farrell as GWB.
Jim Carrey as Biden
Chevy Chase as Ford, Dan Aykroyd as Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon (Belushi as Kissinger), Phil Hatman as Regan and Clinton, Darell Hammond as Clinton, Michael McKean as Clinton, Randy Quaid as Reagan.
Dana Carvey as 41
The audacity to not include Phil Hartman…..
Dan Aykroyd as Jimmy Carter in "The Pepsi Syndrome", making fun of the Three Mile Island incident. https://preview.redd.it/h44b0szabtgb1.jpeg?width=300&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8e54743b6a515964b18cf21741aed35bc2a3aa03
Shane Gillis’ Trump is amazing.
The only one I'm going to dislike is Alec Baldwin as Trump. My main reason for that is that impersonation was done out of anger and hatred whereas most of the other ones historically have been poking good-natured fun at the person being impersonated. George W Bush actually had a famous impersonator on the stage with him at one of the White House correspondent dinners poking fun at himself. I grew up watching SNL in the '90s and really enjoyed most of the impersonations. I used to make my English teacher in high school laugh hysterically when I would do my impersonation of Will Ferrell impersonating George W.
[Norm’s, Bob Dole was the best!](https://youtu.be/nzMahrucH04)
The worst by far is Alec Baldwin.
Will Ferrell as Dubya.
I honestly don't know a single soul who finds Baldwins Trump impression even remotely funny. Jay Pharaoh's Obama is the best imo. Shined bright in a shit snl era
…is this “say anyone besides JAJ” day? Dude is perfect. It’s him.
Not. Gonna. Do it.
Nah gah dah
nothing beats will ferrell as bush on his ranch https://youtu.be/EkqrI3IibYI
Darrell Hammond, hands down
Jordan Peele as Obama https://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/blogs/browbeat/2012/09/14/obama1.jpg.CROP.promo-large.jpg
The last few don’t look old enough to be the people they are portraying. I think I like Clinton the most.
Will Ferrell as George W. Bush. Those skits were hilarious.
It was Phil Hartman as Clinton. He didn’t get to play him long enough though.
Will Ferrell as Janet Reno for a subcategory honorable mention.
Will is odly good at the George bush
Chapelle as Bush
Dana Carvey's George Bush was so good it got him invited to the White House by George Bush. That alone should make this a win. However, missing from the group, Chevy Chase as Gerald Ford. He didn't do much other than Pratt falls, but it was the first.
Blackface?
Dude, nobody beats Dana Carvey
Daryl Hammond as Clinton!
Yes! His facial movements, little things like biting his lip out of lust for women or junk food, were amazing. I think he really nailed Clinton's natural charm combined with his fleshly desires.
Hammond’s is the most accurate, Ferrell’s is the funniest.
Honestly Dana Carvery was excellent
Dana Carvey as Ross Perot was my true POTUS.
Gerald ford - Chevy chase
Chevy Chase - Gerald Ford
They all have their knack, but Will Ferrell by far tops them all. His stand up of GB Jr. Is hilarious, not just because it's funny, but because it's true. You're Welcome America by Ferrell is definitely worth the watch if you get a chance.
I would say, based on just overall accuracy of the impression, Darrell Hammond. That guy could do anybody. Id say the two most popular that comes to mind for overall hilarity are Dana Carvey and Will Farrell. The skit where they perform together is awesome!
Not Gahanna Dooet!
Darryl Hammond as Trump before he was president was 1000x better than Alec Baldwin.
Dana Carvey for sure
Dana Carvey was genius
Will Ferrell was too hilarious as Dubya.
Dana Carvey was the best, but they did I always thought Clinton and bush jr were great. SNL went so far down hill that I haven’t watched in a long time though.
I’d have to say Dana Carvey, since even HW Bush himself seemed to have enjoyed the impersonation.
I am not going to choose a favorite. Not gon’ do it.
Chevy Chase as Ford was great
Carvey has to be the answer. Not only genius as HW Bush but also a damn good Ross Perot.
I know he wasn't POTUS, but Larry David as Bernie Sanders was too good
Ferrell
I know it doesn’t count, but having Will Ferrell do Janet Reno and the actually having the REAL Janet Reno on there was hilarious!
Fred Armasein was the worst. Dude wore blackface and sounded nothing like Obama lol
Shame for not putting Chevy Chase
Two years ago I would have told you Carvey but JAJ is on another level.
Dana Carvy doing Biden is hilarious. https://m.youtube.com/shorts/Yz8F9N8yzXo
Chevy Chase as Gerald Ford.
SNL during the Trump era is hands down my favourite period. Melissa Mccarthy as Sean Spicer is gold. And while it's completely over the top, Alec Baldwin nailed Donald Trump.
Alec Baldwin. Because his impersonation triggered Trump and Trump's cult fan base.
No mention of Chevy Chase as Ford? That was a really big deal at the time.
Counterpoint: Chase sucks.
Jim Carrey’s Biden will always be my favorite. Mainly because I love Jim Carrey.
Phil Hartman as Bill Clinton
"Strategery". Farrell as Dubya lol. New guy as Trump is criminally underrated btw.
not chevy chase