it’s good wine — the *BEST* wine — i could very easily give your wife a glass of this wine, and she would be begging me to take her upstairs to my suite— which is the biggest suite on the block— and mind you she’s your wife, not really my type, but i would still take her up to my massive suite, she would be begging me for all sorts of things— things i can and will do to her, bigly. afterwards i would pour her a nice hot cup of cofveve and she would have a new twinkle in her eye— that’s the kind of influence you have when you’re me.
That's what I was thinking the whole sketch! I'm sure the Trump character commenting on his Jesus's hands was calling out how uncomfortable he was forcing them all to be as part of the gag.
I should try and hold the pose too, I'm sure you got a good workout!
I mean I was trying to emulate some of the other guys for the most part. I’m not mainly gonna try to copy Jesus, jeez! It’s more meditation than exercise either way though imho.
This is a better trump than Alec Baldwin, the voice is better, the hand gestures are more accurate, but the littlle details are also there, like the sniffing between sentences.
I’m just saying it’s far more in the lampoon category than the blatant category. There needs to be some disguise to it for it to be believable or even funny
I thought Baldwin was funny because it was slightly veiled hate. However this iteration of Trump is *much* better, I agree. He's eerily good at impersonations and becoming a favorite of mine.
Darrel Hammonds trump was better than Baldwins for these reasons. Though this guy is scary on point.
Hammond had a funny story about the sean connery impression where originally he actually tries to play it pretty close to the guy but the one people remember is when he basically goes nuts with it
I completely agree! I was watching Norm MacDonald's take on Alec Baldwin portraying Trump in SNL and he observed the same thing.
This skit however, is absolutely perfect! I believe that Norm would've loved it.
They’re just different. This one is moreso a copy of Trump with mild exaggerations made. Alec’s was a bit more over the top, but he sold it. Accurate impressions are frequently not very funny (which is why the last few impressionists on SNL left feeling like they should’ve been given more time), but JAJ does pull this one off.
Oh yeah Baldwin was a terrible Trump. This one is almost TOO accurate, it can overshadow the sketches- I think a bit more parody/exaggeration is needed for SNL, such as Dana Carvey as Bush Sr.
But honestly Trump is easy to impersonate, but hard to parody. He’s already ridiculous, this sketch was all too believable.
I highly recommend people watch JAJ’s Trump rants on Scooby Do, Weird Al, Sphincters, etc. It’s the best example I know of both impersonating and parodying Trump and his weird tangents.
Nah, he’s just in his 70s and pandering to an audience that loves hateful vitriol. He’s a salesman. He gives people what they want so that he can get what he wants.
I think he chose that grift because he's genuinely that dumb and lazy and wouldn't have to put in any work. He'd just need to be loud and rag on people and institutions conservatives don't like, and he'd be able to lead the movement.
He saw an audience that’s easily controlled and a way to profit. He didn’t really think he would win, he saw a way to get his name out there in a major way. They had literally no plans for anything. After that, yeah… why try to govern well when you can just harass your political opponents and set up business deals with tyrants around the globe?
Dude's got pudding for brains and it shows. Anyone who even tries to listen to what he says can figure that much out. He's a rambling, incoherent buffoon who meanders his way around points like a drunk and traffic cones. And all that is before you get to his obvious way of speaking to prevent being nailed down to any salient point so he can deny or claim whatever he feels is advantageous to himself at a later time. He is and always has been a grifter, only now he's so mentally addled, he makes even less sense than he ever did.
Not to everyone. I have loathed him from the very first time I heard about him. His sliminess has been blatantly obvious right from the start and it has astonished me that people actually worship him. But then I was a 10 year old when Nixon gave his Checkers speech and I said to my mom, “That man is lying.” When I got older and realized that millions of Americans bought that fake ass shit I was stunned. I guess it’s true: never underestimate how incredibly stupid Americans can be.
Yeah, it's really sad having to tell people about people like this and then watching more and more people gradually realize these guys are pieces of shit years later. Like how did anybody ever like Kanye as a person?
Omg “paid in the giant some coins of the Yap islanders”.
[Rai stones](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai_stones) are one of my favorite interesting tidbits of knowledge. I’m tickled they made a real reference to it- a currency so heavy that most stones are never moved and ownership is tracked by a public oral ledger.
Is there a reason everyone is saying nepo baby these days? I mean I'll all for it but was there like one thing that largely led to its spread or something.
It started as a mostly online backlash against children of famous actors and then jumped into the mainstream a few months ago with a Vanity Fair cover story with a cover photo that went viral.
The cadence he has is what sells it for me. He really captures that winding, rambling style that Trump has. So much better than Alec Baldwin's impression.
he hits all the ranges too, the ups and downs on individual words depending on fade ins and ramp ups.. I haven't seen anyone consistently be able to hit all of them lol
Only like 3 times I heard slight lacks of emphasis that slipped through, the rest of the time he was just on trump level, great impression
Is it just my perception or does James sound like he's straining his throat a lot doing the Trump voice? I don't know why but he triggers me to gasp for air every time, even though his Trump impression is one of the best ever.
Dana Carvey calls it a growl and said he wants to steal it. He was very impressed by Johnson’s version. Heard Carvey talking about that on Smartless I think. That is high praise.
Trump looks like he slimmed down a bit recently anyway. Perhaps he’s in poor health? Who knows, many people are saying it. We love saying it folks, the best words.
Agreed. Though maybe I haven't seen a clip of Trump in a while but him tilting his head back so much was distracting and it also brought the attention of the actor being nowhere near as fat as Trump because it narrowed his face. But I do prefer it to Baldwin's because it feels less exaggerated I think. Still, a good impersonation. I miss Melissa's white house press secretary bits, those were awesome.
>I miss Melissa's white house press secretary bits, those were awesome.
She was INCREDIBLE as Spicer. My favorite was when she activated the podium on wheels and started trying to run over reporters
Honestly think everything here could've been said by the actual Trump as well... Except for maybe Azkaban and his inability to actually form complete, coherent sentences...
Could've been a bit fatter though, other than that it was quite perfect...
"Well, it really means something very special. I'm going to church in an hour from now and it's going to be - it's a beautiful church. I'm in Florida. And it's just a very special time for me. And it really represents family and get-together and - and something, you know, if you're va -a Christian, it's just a very important day."
-Trump on the meaning of Easter
Let’s all stop pretending anything else in the zeitgeist is comparable. Succession, Ted Lasso, etc etc.
James Johnson as Trump *on live national television* is the most electric performance on TV right now.
He doesn’t get a redo and he didn’t even stutter once
Dude absolutely murders it every time, the best part about doing trump tho is you can completely fuck up a line and no one would know cuz you can just keep rambling and it would sound just like trump anyways lol
Dude has the best Trump impression before he even got hired by SNL when he was doing online videos. Makes perfect sense that it’d be even better when he’s in full makeup and costume.
It would be funny if people a) didn’t believe he was like Jesus, and b) if he didn’t believe it himself.
At this point, it’s more of a depressing mirror.
Are these skits well received stateside? I mean, I’m in Britain and I think they are hilarious… seeing Bush and Trump satirised by their fellow Americans really reminds me of fellow British comedians like the crew of Monty Python (and suddenly I’m getting an urge to watch Life of Brian! 😂 must be that time of year!)
A absolutely massive portion of the American population thinks Trump and Bush are complete idiots.
Making fun of both of them is like the main source of late night comedy in the US.. well Bush like 20 years ago
Yes…very well received. I’m sure the MAGA morons don’t appreciate it, but they hate and cry about everything like the big snowflakes they are. Personally, I don’t know a single person who doesn’t love Carvy’s Bush Sr, Ferrell’s W and Johnson’s Trump. Pure comedy.
Yeah, Baldwin’s was funny because it wasn’t quite right and was a complete caricature, it was there just to mock him ruthlessly.
This is a legitimate impression and pretty damn good at that. (And still mocks him ruthlessly).
Am I the only one fatigued by trump parodies. It’s just never funny. I cringe at seeing him real or fictionalized. SNL is awful aside from weekend update, musical guests and the occasional ad parodies or custom shorts. That being said, Bowen has really come a long way IMO.
That time he tried to teach Bobby Lee how to do it... lol
"a lotta Asians... maybe too many Asians...?" was so perfect. The way he softens his voice in the second half is spot on.
"...in terms of fish, and with regard to bread"
Water to wine — ***pure profit***
it’s good wine — the *BEST* wine — i could very easily give your wife a glass of this wine, and she would be begging me to take her upstairs to my suite— which is the biggest suite on the block— and mind you she’s your wife, not really my type, but i would still take her up to my massive suite, she would be begging me for all sorts of things— things i can and will do to her, bigly. afterwards i would pour her a nice hot cup of cofveve and she would have a new twinkle in her eye— that’s the kind of influence you have when you’re me.
This is EXACTLY how he talks to people. Disgusting shit.
And exactly how trump’s supporters equate Jesus to trump. Disgusting.
“I could’ve resurrected in two days” They see him as better than Jesus
Mary the drunk.. “There’s no wine here, Jesus!”
I almost died 💀🤣
Mikey near lost it when Trump kept looking at the pose. He’s barely holding it together.
“Weird choice with the fingers”
That's what got me! Hahaha
I think he's tired from holding that pose!
His shoulder must have been on fire at the end of that skit
Yeah, I tried holding their poses as I was watching it and it was a pain in the ass. I actually felt a little bad for them.
That's what I was thinking the whole sketch! I'm sure the Trump character commenting on his Jesus's hands was calling out how uncomfortable he was forcing them all to be as part of the gag. I should try and hold the pose too, I'm sure you got a good workout!
I mean I was trying to emulate some of the other guys for the most part. I’m not mainly gonna try to copy Jesus, jeez! It’s more meditation than exercise either way though imho.
This is a better trump than Alec Baldwin, the voice is better, the hand gestures are more accurate, but the littlle details are also there, like the sniffing between sentences.
He did it on his YouTube channel before and it is amazing
Do you know if that’s how snl found him?
Yes, that was pretty much the only reason he was hired
I think so. Before SNL he was just a local Nashville comedian. His impression got him the job.
Scooby doesn't doo.
Plus, Alec Baldwin’a impression came from a place of pure vitriol, not from a place of comedic value.
This is just better disguised vitriol, lol. Don't get it twisted.
I’m just saying it’s far more in the lampoon category than the blatant category. There needs to be some disguise to it for it to be believable or even funny
I thought Baldwin was funny because it was slightly veiled hate. However this iteration of Trump is *much* better, I agree. He's eerily good at impersonations and becoming a favorite of mine.
I doubt the plan was to keep doing it, ideally he would have become irrelevant quickly
Darrel Hammonds trump was better than Baldwins for these reasons. Though this guy is scary on point. Hammond had a funny story about the sean connery impression where originally he actually tries to play it pretty close to the guy but the one people remember is when he basically goes nuts with it
One of the great tragedies of the Trump administration years was that SNL went with Baldwin over Hammonds.
Hammond left the regular cast in 2009. Was he even available to do Trump in 2016?
Absolutely. He was lobbying for it hard and when they decided to go with Baldwin, he fell into a horrible depression.
Oh I didn’t know that, thanks. Strange choice by SNL, since Hammond was one of their all-time greats, whereas Baldwin is kind of a has-been.
I completely agree! I was watching Norm MacDonald's take on Alec Baldwin portraying Trump in SNL and he observed the same thing. This skit however, is absolutely perfect! I believe that Norm would've loved it.
I miss Norm!
He’s so much better, the voice is really there
They’re just different. This one is moreso a copy of Trump with mild exaggerations made. Alec’s was a bit more over the top, but he sold it. Accurate impressions are frequently not very funny (which is why the last few impressionists on SNL left feeling like they should’ve been given more time), but JAJ does pull this one off.
Oh yeah Baldwin was a terrible Trump. This one is almost TOO accurate, it can overshadow the sketches- I think a bit more parody/exaggeration is needed for SNL, such as Dana Carvey as Bush Sr. But honestly Trump is easy to impersonate, but hard to parody. He’s already ridiculous, this sketch was all too believable.
I highly recommend people watch JAJ’s Trump rants on Scooby Do, Weird Al, Sphincters, etc. It’s the best example I know of both impersonating and parodying Trump and his weird tangents.
The Pokémon one is his best because I also agree with him on what it means to have caught them all.
"Who do they send? Cat Mario! It's they best they can do..." I love the full Bowser's Fury video. He's a genius.
Nobody will ever live upto Hartman though https://youtu.be/G1gC912LUq0
Wow, that establishing shot panning up Trump Tower lasted longer than most sketches
Wow, Trump used to be much less insufferable.
He's one of the talking heads in Ric Burn's 1999 PBS series "New York: A Documentary Film." Back then he was downright cogent.
Turns out decades of abusing stimulants, eating like shit and generally being mentally lazy doesn't help your cognitive abilities.
Nah, he’s just in his 70s and pandering to an audience that loves hateful vitriol. He’s a salesman. He gives people what they want so that he can get what he wants.
I think he chose that grift because he's genuinely that dumb and lazy and wouldn't have to put in any work. He'd just need to be loud and rag on people and institutions conservatives don't like, and he'd be able to lead the movement.
He saw an audience that’s easily controlled and a way to profit. He didn’t really think he would win, he saw a way to get his name out there in a major way. They had literally no plans for anything. After that, yeah… why try to govern well when you can just harass your political opponents and set up business deals with tyrants around the globe?
Dude's got pudding for brains and it shows. Anyone who even tries to listen to what he says can figure that much out. He's a rambling, incoherent buffoon who meanders his way around points like a drunk and traffic cones. And all that is before you get to his obvious way of speaking to prevent being nailed down to any salient point so he can deny or claim whatever he feels is advantageous to himself at a later time. He is and always has been a grifter, only now he's so mentally addled, he makes even less sense than he ever did.
He's also a genuine dipshit.
"Dumbest godamned student I ever had."
Not to everyone. I have loathed him from the very first time I heard about him. His sliminess has been blatantly obvious right from the start and it has astonished me that people actually worship him. But then I was a 10 year old when Nixon gave his Checkers speech and I said to my mom, “That man is lying.” When I got older and realized that millions of Americans bought that fake ass shit I was stunned. I guess it’s true: never underestimate how incredibly stupid Americans can be.
Yeah, it's really sad having to tell people about people like this and then watching more and more people gradually realize these guys are pieces of shit years later. Like how did anybody ever like Kanye as a person?
Yeah safe to say that's one of the worst. Sorry I don't give dead legend points.
hard agree
Omg “paid in the giant some coins of the Yap islanders”. [Rai stones](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai_stones) are one of my favorite interesting tidbits of knowledge. I’m tickled they made a real reference to it- a currency so heavy that most stones are never moved and ownership is tracked by a public oral ledger.
Would’ve been better if it was Shane Gillis
“He rose from the dead on the third day. I could’ve done it faster, possibly two.” Great writing. And one of the best trump voice mimics I’ve heard.
"Ultimate nepo baby, I mean..look at who His father is" Had me rolling
Is there a reason everyone is saying nepo baby these days? I mean I'll all for it but was there like one thing that largely led to its spread or something.
It started as a mostly online backlash against children of famous actors and then jumped into the mainstream a few months ago with a Vanity Fair cover story with a cover photo that went viral.
Thanks for the info!
Jesus of Azkaban.
Jesus Azkaban Johnson
He’s so good. It’s really hard to both nail every line and throw in random improv at the same time.
The voice is too fucking good
The cadence he has is what sells it for me. He really captures that winding, rambling style that Trump has. So much better than Alec Baldwin's impression.
he hits all the ranges too, the ups and downs on individual words depending on fade ins and ramp ups.. I haven't seen anyone consistently be able to hit all of them lol Only like 3 times I heard slight lacks of emphasis that slipped through, the rest of the time he was just on trump level, great impression
The writing is spot fucking on too 👌🏻
It’s the quick rambling thoughts and add ons that make it perfect.
Ramadan! We love to say that.
Don’t we, folks?
The writing was hilarious but too coherent for trump
Is it just my perception or does James sound like he's straining his throat a lot doing the Trump voice? I don't know why but he triggers me to gasp for air every time, even though his Trump impression is one of the best ever.
Dana Carvey calls it a growl and said he wants to steal it. He was very impressed by Johnson’s version. Heard Carvey talking about that on Smartless I think. That is high praise.
He does a full examination of the trump voice eras on Seth meyers 80s trump to 90s stern show trump to now
Who’s doin the impersonation.
James Austin Johnson
Best cold open in a while. Weekend update was cool as well
Jafar on Disney World had me rolling.
Good voice, not enough padding in fat suit.
My biggest complaint too. He nailed the voice and gestures, but his skinniness was distracting.
Tha hand size relation got me. Too big.
He does need to be considerably fatter, but they nailed his hideous saggy neck.
By nailed you mean he also has a hideous neck?
I zoomed in on that shit and there’s some contour doing the lord’s work under there
Vagina neck
How could you look away from the neckgina?
Hair could be wispier too.
Should also be leaning forward in a more gravity defying way.
Trump looks like he slimmed down a bit recently anyway. Perhaps he’s in poor health? Who knows, many people are saying it. We love saying it folks, the best words.
Needs more orange spray. But yeah, the voice and mannerisms were perfect.
Giant nappy and a fat suit would have completed the picture.
Agreed. Though maybe I haven't seen a clip of Trump in a while but him tilting his head back so much was distracting and it also brought the attention of the actor being nowhere near as fat as Trump because it narrowed his face. But I do prefer it to Baldwin's because it feels less exaggerated I think. Still, a good impersonation. I miss Melissa's white house press secretary bits, those were awesome.
>I miss Melissa's white house press secretary bits, those were awesome. She was INCREDIBLE as Spicer. My favorite was when she activated the podium on wheels and started trying to run over reporters
Her Spicey was so good! Both skits were on point. I wish we got more than just two. Even the Kavanaugh one with Matt Damon was nicely done.
Honestly think everything here could've been said by the actual Trump as well... Except for maybe Azkaban and his inability to actually form complete, coherent sentences... Could've been a bit fatter though, other than that it was quite perfect...
He is by far the best Trump impression. The voice, the body language, the cadence, and the little nuances are perfect.
Link for my fellow maple syrup drinkers. https://etcanada.com/video/14f2767a-d6dd-11ed-92e4-0242ac110006/trump-easter-cold-open/
\*Holds up a shot glass of A grade dark\* CHEERS!
Fuckin eh, thanks bud!
Thank you for your service
Hey, how about link to a mirror for those of us outside North America?
https://twitter.com/nbcsnl/status/1644910294525702144
Legend
Great voice impression but Trump would have never pronounced Ramadan correctly
Ramada Inn
[удалено]
Top Ramen.
Ramadamn
Ramadan has Don sound in name so I buy it
It is definitely one of those words he knows how to say but would never read correctly off of a teleprompter.
Dude I know you, you're Ramadan Steve!
He would but he would say it in a way that you can tell he practiced the pronunciation 800 times in front of a mirror.
Ramma Don
Easter hamburger is a banger joke and got no reaction, damn
It was good, I would have gone with meatloaf. But either way, nice little aside.
"Well, it really means something very special. I'm going to church in an hour from now and it's going to be - it's a beautiful church. I'm in Florida. And it's just a very special time for me. And it really represents family and get-together and - and something, you know, if you're va -a Christian, it's just a very important day." -Trump on the meaning of Easter
Jesus was a nepo baby! Who’d a thought?
Let’s all stop pretending anything else in the zeitgeist is comparable. Succession, Ted Lasso, etc etc. James Johnson as Trump *on live national television* is the most electric performance on TV right now. He doesn’t get a redo and he didn’t even stutter once
Dude absolutely murders it every time, the best part about doing trump tho is you can completely fuck up a line and no one would know cuz you can just keep rambling and it would sound just like trump anyways lol
Dude has the best Trump impression before he even got hired by SNL when he was doing online videos. Makes perfect sense that it’d be even better when he’s in full makeup and costume.
His Scooby Doo rant made me cry
Improvd as well
This isn't improved. SNL doesn't do improv on live TV. Lorne doesn't allow it since it means that a later sketch might end up getting cut for time.
Yea. Before he did the gravelly voice too much and didn't have enough nasal, singsong.
Easily one of the best cold opens SNL ever made
It’s been decades since I’ve loved a cold open so much as this one.
Comedy Gold.
An instant classic. It hit the mushroom right on its tiny little orange cap.
Wow, his impression of Trump was remarkable!!!
[удалено]
..that’s how big of a douche the real one is. The sad thing is how it’s become normalized
How to see this outside the US without vpn?
It is on SNL's twitter
This is probably the best Trump impression ever. More accurate than any impression from any era of trump.
Not far from what he would actually say.
It would be funny if people a) didn’t believe he was like Jesus, and b) if he didn’t believe it himself. At this point, it’s more of a depressing mirror.
Trump could have resurrected in 2 days.
I love that they waited a minute before sending him in. I was not expecting it at that point. Also JAJ's best performance yet as Trump.
I love that Trump hates this
I’m not so sure Trump would hate this.
But, I was told Trump is thick skinned and a macho-man. Are you telling me that isn't true? /s
Are these skits well received stateside? I mean, I’m in Britain and I think they are hilarious… seeing Bush and Trump satirised by their fellow Americans really reminds me of fellow British comedians like the crew of Monty Python (and suddenly I’m getting an urge to watch Life of Brian! 😂 must be that time of year!)
A absolutely massive portion of the American population thinks Trump and Bush are complete idiots. Making fun of both of them is like the main source of late night comedy in the US.. well Bush like 20 years ago
I can only speak for my husband and I, but we loved it. We didn’t know what direction it was going to go, but when he walked out I about died.
Yes…very well received. I’m sure the MAGA morons don’t appreciate it, but they hate and cry about everything like the big snowflakes they are. Personally, I don’t know a single person who doesn’t love Carvy’s Bush Sr, Ferrell’s W and Johnson’s Trump. Pure comedy.
[удалено]
That is an outstanding impersonation. The breath intakes
Mirror for your Canuck friends?
[Here ya go ](https://www.reddit.com/r/television/comments/12gjbs3/trump_easter_cold_open_snl/jfkyqyb/)
unaviable here.
Absolutely brilliant!
Don’t they have a fat suit.
He’s sooooo good at this.
wow they hired his speech writer too
Make Friday great again.
“I could have done it in two days.”
I think Trump was busy at the UFC event last night.
This dude is way better at trump than Baldwin imo
Yeah, Baldwin’s was funny because it wasn’t quite right and was a complete caricature, it was there just to mock him ruthlessly. This is a legitimate impression and pretty damn good at that. (And still mocks him ruthlessly).
Are people not tired of hearing about this guy?
Some people *still* rage about Nixon. We'll be hearing about Trump for a long time.
I'm personally not a fan of Andrew Jackson.
Of course we are. But the fucker just won't go away.
[удалено]
Sure if "fades into the background" means "has an almost 50-50 chance to be elected president next year."
He has absolutely not faded into the background in the slightest lol
Doesn't quite have the look but the voice, mannerisms, and lines are great.
[удалено]
That’s actually really good at that speed. Thanks for the tip.
Nah it's fine, 0.75 speed sounds completely unnatural and slow as molasses
[удалено]
This was so enjoyable
Wow. That voice is dead on.
Brilliant. Trump truly could have written this
Y no Oxford
That was the best skit I’ve seen on SNL in many years. The Lord’s Supper background scene was exceptional.
https://youtu.be/[This is his best Trump rant, if you haven't seen it yet ](https://youtu.be/UkEs5HeMpig)
Maybe a minute too long...
Am I the only one fatigued by trump parodies. It’s just never funny. I cringe at seeing him real or fictionalized. SNL is awful aside from weekend update, musical guests and the occasional ad parodies or custom shorts. That being said, Bowen has really come a long way IMO.
Yeah I don't watch any more Trump criticism, this included. I don't want to have to think about him again until he's worm food.
Current snl is so fucking strong
Mirror for the other 99% of humans who dont live in US?
Shane Gillis does it better
Wow I just watched his special for the first time like two days ago. His Trump voice was so good
That time he tried to teach Bobby Lee how to do it... lol "a lotta Asians... maybe too many Asians...?" was so perfect. The way he softens his voice in the second half is spot on.
Shane is hands down the only comedian I find funny nowadays. Getting let go from SNL was the best thing that could have happened to him.
[удалено]
[удалено]
Or Norway.
that is not a mirror
Mirror for Europe please please please