In the eve of the second presidential debate tonight, ‘Saturday Night Live’ has once again given us an unforgettable comedy sketch. The renowned actor Alec Baldwin took to the stage of Studio 8H of NBC Studios once again to take on Donald Trump and his original comments controversy.
The parody starring Baldwin was part of the cold open on this last Saturday night. The writers of the show did not shy away from making the most out of an unlikely situation, one of many this presidential race has had.
Alec Baldwin is an institution of the NBC live comedy show, having hosted sixteen episodes since 1990 and appearing countless other times. He holds the record for most times hosting ‘SNL’ and regularly swings by to perform key roles such as Donald Trump.
‘SNL’ makes the most out of a scandalous situation with help from Baldwin
The October 8th episode set the tone of the opening sketch by addressing the #TrumpTapes controversy. The bit began as a parody of the vice-presidential debate featuring performers Mikey Day as the Democrat Tim Kaine and Beck Bennett as the Republican Mike Pence.
The sketch marked the prominent debut of Mikey Day and Melissa Villaseñor as featured players in the legendary live series, alongside already seasoned veterans like Cecily Strong and Kate McKinnon.
However, the highlight of the night was the appearance of Alec Baldwin impersonating Donald Trump. Reports of ‘SNL’ featuring Baldwin as Trump this season surfaced before the 42nd season premiere last week on October 1. Baldwin is expected to show up regularly as the campaign season continues and, eventually, the United Stated elects a new president.
With a tan makeup and sporting a serious look with a wig on, Baldwin made his best Trump impression to address the nature of his sexual comments on the TV host Nancy O’Dell back in 2005.
The Huffington Post (in which Alec Baldwin writes a column), first broke the news at midnight of October 8, giving the writers of the show just a couple of hours to write the sketch. The actors had even less time to prepare for the role.
In spite of this, Baldwin hilariously captured the essence of the shameful episode. His fictionalized version of Donald Trump ‘apple-gized’ more than a few times for his behavior, alleging that back then he was just a “childish, 59-year-old man.”
Baldwin’s Trump took things even further, claiming that “if you give me a chance, I promise I can do a whole lot more than just grab it. I can also bop it, twist it and pull it.”
Donald Trump has since issued a video statement, formally apologizing for his comments. The video served as direct inspiration for the parody. Several Republicans, including VP candidate Mike Pence, have said that they do not condone Mr. Trump’s words.
On her part, Nancy O’Dell expressed her sadness about being objectified by Trump all those years ago. Billy Bush, the figure talking to Trump back then, has formally apologized as well alleging he was young and immature at the time.
Emily Blunt will host next week’s episode of Saturday Night Live on October 15th, and Bruno Mars will be the musical guest.
Source: YouTube