With the 2016 Presidential election less than two months away, tensions are at an all-time high. And while everyone has their own strong opinion on the candidates, their campaigns, and everything in between, one thing we can all cling to in these desperate times is political satire. From late night shows to comedians on YouTube, everyone is out for blood this year, including, of course, Saturday Night Live. Though the sketch show has had ups and downs throughout its decades on air, it always goes in for the kill during an election season. And with its October 1st season premiere looming on the horizon, SNL is shaking things up again with a brand new Donald Trump.
Yes, after successfully portraying Trump for the past year, Darrell Hammond has retired his orange makeup and fluffy toupee to make room for another impressionist. Last season, Hammond reprised his role as the Republican party’s nominee alongside Kate McKinnon‘s gleeful take on Hillary Clinton (who was also embodied in a wonderful cameo from another SNL alum, Amy Poehler) and Larry David‘s eerily spot-on Bernie Sanders. And in addition to many of the changes coming to the show (including the departure of two of our favorite players, Taran Killam and Jay Pharoah), a new Trump has been cast… And it’s a doozy.
The night we’ve all been waiting for. #SNLPremiere pic.twitter.com/WiY1jLpop5
— Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) September 28, 2016
In a play off the two candidates’ first official debate, McKinnon maniacally prepares to face off against her new opponent, Alec Baldwin, who is clearly going full-pout with his impression of Trump. Baldwin has hosted SNL a record-breaking 16 times and has been a part of many beloved sketches throughout the years, so he obviously has the comedic chops to pull this off. But what sort of Trump will he be? Baldwin has been having a ton of fun as the cheeky host of ABC’s revival of the game show Match Game (seriously, it’s a must-watch), so we feel like he’s ready to really knock it out of the park.
Are you excited to see Saturday Night Live take on the political shenanigans leading up to the election? Who’s your favorite SNL impressionist of all time? Let us know in the comments below!
Image: NBC
