A History of SNL Presidents
Arianna Bassini
Whether it was Chevy Chase, Dana Carvey, Dan Aykroyd, Alec Baldwin, or Dana Carvey—yes, again—who introduced you to the presidential spoofs on SNL, they’ve probably given you some good laughs. In the midst of an election year, SNL has had myriad opportunities to spoof political figures. From a bumbling Biden to a tactless Trump, with a flood of Kamala Harris laughs and puns along the way, SNL has certainly kept up a tradition that can be traced back to its establishment in 1975.
Chevy Chase had the honor of being the first SNL president, appearing in November of 1975 as the so-called “klutz-in-chief,” Gerald Ford. Though Chase may not have portrayed the most accurate impression of President Ford, with a caricaturistic amount of stumbling and tripping—Chase even entered the “Debate ‘76” skit with a syringe needle still stuck in his arm—he set the tone for his successors: SNL would have no hesitation ridiculing politics.
Next came Dan Aykroyd as Jimmy Carter, driving home the sensible, jack-of-all-trades image of the peanut-farmer president through skits like “Ask President Carter,” during which Akroyd donned a southern accent and helped callers from across the nation. He explained how to unclog the “Marvix 3000,” a new automatic letter sorting machine, and talked down an intoxicated teenager, saying, “Now just relax, stay inside, and listen to some music, okay. Do you have any Allman Brothers?”
Akroyd was followed by Phil Hartman, who portrayed President Ronald Reagan as an evil mastermind. In several skits, he donned a clueless, Hollywood facade in the presence of journalists and the American people, but revealed his extensive knowledge of every government operation behind closed doors. Indeed, Hartman’s manic Reagan seemed to perform all of his secretaries’ duties as they drifted off during Cabinet meetings, which he held from dusk to dawn, seemingly immune to exhaustion.
Premiering in 1987, Dana Carvey’s spot-on impression of George H.W. Bush is one of the most famous ones to date. From capturing Bush’s mildly Texan speech pattern to imitating his constant, illustrative hand gestures, Carvey nailed it. President Bush himself adored the impression, but more on that later. Carvey was such a talented impressionist that he was simultaneously cast as Ross Perot, the prominent third-party presidential candidate who ran against both Bush and Clinton in 1992, and Clinton again in 1996.
Speaking of President Clinton, Phil Hartman played SNL’s original slow-talking, smirking impression, which debuted in 1992. Hartman’s most famous appearance as the president is the Clinton at McDonald’s sketch, during which he can’t resist sampling the fries of the people as he addresses their concerns. Darrell Hammond’s impeachment-era Clinton is more widespread, however, as the character broke more from reality to serve the avalanche of Lewinsky scandal jokes.
Well-known for “Bushisms”—slightly wrong words like “strategery,” which poked fun at the President’s tendency to slip up—Will Ferrell’s impression of George W. Bush did not disappoint Carvey’s legacy. Actually, during the presidency of George W. Bush, 2001–2009, Carvey resumed his role as George H.W. Bush on SNL to provide some fatherly wisdom. More often than not, this featured Carvey slapping Ferrell across the face when he drifted off into a dazed speech about drinking and hunting.
Barack Obama was mostly played by cast members Fred Armisen and Jay Pharoah, but Duane “The Rock” Johnson also did several skits as “The Rock Obama,” in which Fred Armisen’s calm, cool Obama would grow angrier and angrier until he had a Hulk-like metamorphosis, bursting out of his shirt and shoes—or was it just a dream…?
Donald Trump and Joe Biden have both been depicted by a variety of actors. Most recently, SNL’s Donald Trump has been James Austin Johnson; although Alec Baldwin was able to capture the incredulity of Trump’s first campaign and pull off the perfect RTF (Resting Trump Face), Johnson does an exhausted, unhinged take that is more representative of the president-elect today. Similarly, while Jason Sudeikis aptly portrayed the loud, unpredictable Vice President Biden, Dana Carvey achieves an uncanny likeness to the tired 2024 version of President Biden, throwing in some classic phrases—“no joke,” “here’s the deal,” and “I’m being serious right now”—and executing the perfect squint into the teleprompter.
***Though this is first and foremost an overview of SNL Presidents, I would be remiss not to include some honorable mentions for impressions of presidential candidates, like Kate McKinnon’s Hillary Clinton, Larry David’s Bernie Sanders, and, of course, Maya Rudolph’s Kamala Harris, which is pure perfection from the cadences to the laugh.***
The impressions provide much-needed respite in tumultuous, heated times. They can bridge political divides, weeding out those who are unable to own up to their flaws or laugh at themselves. Because as decades of commanders-in-chief can surely confirm, SNL doesn’t hesitate to poke fun at anyone and everyone.
How have U.S. Presidents reacted? It’s a mixed bag. Gerald Ford reportedly didn’t love the impression, but was a pretty good sport about it. In fact, he ended up trying to use SNL’s spoofs to improve his public image: he sent his press secretary to host the show and taped the classic catchphrase, “Live from New York, It’s Saturday Night!” in the Oval Office. George H.W. Bush absolutely loved the impressions; he enjoyed Carvey’s take so much that the two became friends. According to an interview Carvey did with the New York Times, in December of 1992—after Bush lost the re-election campaign—the President invited Carvey to come do his impression at the White House to cheer up the staff. The junior President Bush and President Obama also enjoyed seeing the SNL skits—President George W. Bush admitted to questioning whether he or Ferrell came up with “strategery,” and President Obama made a cameo on the show as a candidate in November of 2007. Though President Trump also hosted SNL as a presidential candidate, he has since expressed his distaste for the impressions, tweeting, “Just tried watching Saturday Night Live – unwatchable!” and “Totally biased, not funny, and the Baldwin impersonation just can’t get any worse.” While it is true that SNL has historically leaned liberal, many of Trump’s Republican predecessors—like George H. W. Bush—were able to laugh it off, which people largely found endearing.
A president’s reaction to the impression suggests a great deal about their personality and leadership style: are they grounded in reality—can they laugh at themself—or are they insecure and ego-obsessed? Further than that, do they fully embrace democracy—are they still proponents of free speech when it comes to criticisms of them? As SNL creator and producer Lorne Michaels highlighted during an interview with Vulture, “If a culture doesn’t allow you to laugh at the leaders or at things that your eyes and ears tell you are actually happening, that’s not good.”