Saturday Night Live debuted its first episode on October 11th, 1975. At the time, Gerald R Ford was President Of The United States. In what began a long-running tradition, the show had one of the cast members portray the President. They went with Chevy Chase. Chase didn’t look a damn thing like Ford. Though, to be fair, he kind of does now. Regardless, the show had an idea for how they would spoof the President, and they used a cast member to execute that idea.
Several cast members have portrayed Presidents on the show over the years. Dan Aykroyd would present a calm and collected Jimmy Carter. If you haven’t watched Phil Hartman as Bill Clinton discuss foreign policy in a McDonald’s then do that (after you take your time slowly and carefully reading this article). Will Ferrell’s take on George W. Bush was so popular he was able to mount a one-man show on Broadway. Cast members kicked ass as Presidents and presidential hopefuls. Then, Donald Trump ruined everything.
Plenty of celebrities have stepped in to play Presidents in the past, but that was usually when they were hosting. When Trump splurted onto the political scene, SNL invited him on to host, and the next year decided to have Alec Baldwin play him on the show, replacing a blindsided Darrel Hammond. Since then, celebrities as politicians have become more of the norm. Cast members are passed up for opportunities, possibly causing some to leave.
James Austin Johnson, a current cast member on the show, has been playing Trump since 2021. Hell, he had been doing it on social media before that as well, which likely helped get him the gig. He even played Biden for a bit. Now, with Kamala Harris taking over for Biden as the presumptive Democratic nominee, SNL has announced that Maya Rudolph will return to play her. Everybody is pretty pumped about that.
It wasn’t long after Tim Walz was named as Kamala’s running mate that people began fan-casting the Governor. I say you let him do it himself, but he’d prob be busy. Lots of people on the internet wanted Steve Martin to play Walz. While those same people helped get Walz chosen for his new gig, they aren’t going to convince Martin to step in front of the cue cards.
While speaking to the LA Times, Martin revealed that he was offered the job by SNL Producer Lorne Michaels, but was not interested. “I wanted to say no and, by the way, he wanted me to say no,” Martin explained. “I said, ‘Lorne, I’m not an impressionist. You need someone who can really nail the guy.’ I was picked because I have gray hair and glasses.” He’s not wrong. While others may argue that he could pull it off if given the chance, he says that isn’t so.
Not only does Martin think he wouldn’t be a good fit, he does not want to give the commitment it would require. “It’s ongoing,” Martin said. “It’s not like you do it once and get applause and never do it again. Again, they need a real impressionist to do that. They’re gonna find somebody really, really good. I’d be struggling.” Saturday Night Live has a cast of talented actors, improvisers, and comedians. They have the person they need in-house.