Former PresidentDonald Trumpis nothing if not a polarizing figure in American politics — and popular culture at large. The real estate magnate-turned-politician has been impersonated since long before his tenure as President of the United States of America (wait — that really happened?), asSaturday Night LivehonchoLorne Michaels always had his finger on the pulse of pop culture, cycling several cast members and guest stars through their best impersonations of Trump.
Trump ranks up there with Bill Clinton and Sarah Palin as some of TV and Film’s favorite targets for comedic duplication, not only for their easily-imitated rhetorical voice but their incredible life stories. In Trump, you have a figure who is beloved by his enormous base and reviled by those opposed to his outsized political presence, even dividing the Republican Party and always making for amazing political theater —perfect fodder for late-night comedyand even some stirring movie performances.
Trump has found his fair share of supporters in the most unlikely of places, as his bravado, enormous wealth, and total disregard for previous conceptions of American politics have made his political career one of the most colorful ever and, therefore, one of the easiest to lampoon. With the recent news of Trump being the first ex-president to face charges in federal court and faces 37 federal criminal charges, take a look back at the best impersonations of former-President Donald J. Trump.
10Taran Killam onSaturday Night Live
Sometimes a guest appearance onSNLdoesn’t go as swimmingly as a cast member would prefer, especially when the guest is Donald Trump and that cast member is Trump impersonatorTaran Killam, who, despite going along with Lorne Michaels' philosophy that allSNLhosts be treated as family, later objected to being a pawn in Trump’s rise to power.
Related:Why BlacKKKlansmen is the Best Movie of the Trump Presidency
Even ifSNLhas destroyed some candidacies (see: Sarah Palin), the appearance seemed to bolster Trump’s chances ahead of his first true Presidential election. Despite his protestations, Killam shows how undeniable Trump was even before his Presidency, making Michaels succumb to his never-ending self-promotion rather than the other way around.
Thanks to the endearingly awful B-Movie,Bad President, starring fallen-on-hard-times comedian Eddie Griffin and little-knownJeff Rectoras Trump, the film biz proved once again to have all sorts of options when it came to capitalizing on something as bankable as a reality star-turned-President. Rector gives a performance that benefited more from joke writing than a hyperrealist portrayal of Trump, although often, the former-President’s cavalier attitude leads to some quotables that aren’t too far off from this silly portrayal. Let’s face it —no matter your feelings about the guy, Trump makes for an easy depiction in film, thanks to his unflappable personality and outlandish rhetoric.
8Josh Robert Thompson onFamily Guy
Given how cartoonish the real-life Donald Trump can be, it’s little surprise he was such a perfect fit forFamily Guy, going toe-to-toe with Peter Griffin (Seth MacFarlane), with the President being voiced byJosh Robert Thompson. A 2019 episode went head-long into showing an even more revved-up version of the formerApprenticestar, making the then-President into an imposing-if-cartoony presence on the series. Trump’s raccoon-like self-tanner and bright-red MAGA hats made easy targets for the Seth MacFarlane-helmed television series. The rest, as they say — is history.
7Anthony Atamanuik onThe President Show
Veteran improv senseiAnthony Atamanuikgot some major notice for his spot-on Trump impersonation onThe Howard Stern Showon SiriusXM radio,leading to a golden-haired opportunity at Comedy CentraldoingThe President Show. Atamanuik took a break from his much-heralded work as an improv actor and teacher and didn’t disappoint, and despite bearing little resemblance to the real-life POTUS, had such a funny vocal inflection that he was, for a time, the go-to Trump impersonator in the comedy television world.
6Darrell Hammond onSaturday Night Live
Darrell Hammondremains the most underrated Trump impersonation as he got to the punch early on in his tenure atSaturday Night Live, realizing, in the 90s, the pop cultural importance of the icon, with an early depiction of the then-real estate magnate during the wealthy heir’s early dalliance withSNL. Long before Trump ever was a legitimate Presidential hopeful, this sidesplitting monologue opposite one ofSNL’s greatest impersonators ever set the standard that Tina Fey and Amy Poehler would later perfect by upending American politics with impersonations of leading politicians.SNL’s stars had a penchant for making powerful people seem like benign, everyday human beings with all the flaws of the average bear.
5Jamie Foxx onRap Radar Podcast
Granted, theRap Radar Podcastis not a film or a tv show, butJamie Foxx’sTrump impersonation on the pod deserves inclusion on this list for its sheer hilarityand unmistakable likeness to the ex-Prez. Foxx was spot-on in his portrayal of the oft-out-of-touch Commander-in-Chief, who loves lighting up a room as much as a decisive political victory, but sometimes lacks basic social skills. We’re hoping to see Foxx somehow expand on his amazing Trump impression — maybe voicing the blonde-pompadoured-blowhard for an animated film about New York City in the 80s? After Foxx’s Oscar-winning role as Ray Charles inRay, it seems he’d be up to the task of impersonating just about any icon
4Brendan Gleeson inThe Comey Rule
Brendan Gleesonproved that dialect was no barrier to an uncanny portrayal of the Commando-in-Chief, who took a scorched-earth approach to his first year in office, immortalized inThe Comey Rule, which saw the Irish actor going balls-to-the-wall in his attempt at canonizing the eccentric President. Gleeson at first seems to have gone too far with the role until one is reminded of how truly theatrical the real-life Trump is. Gleeson was clearly hip to his incredibly-convincing hyperbole as Trump, making this performance one of his most memorable.
3Alec Baldwin onSaturday Night Live
Alec Baldwinfound a mortal enemy in Donald Trump with his fabled run of appearances as the embattled leader of the free world onSNL, growing the already enormous late-night legend of Baldwin, who was by then a member ofSNL’s heralded “Five Timers' Club.”
Related:The Best Movies About Politics From the 21st Century, So Far
Baldwin seemed to get the best of Trump at the outset of his 7 episode reign as resident Trump impersonator onSNLbut felt the backlash on every social media platform when he became implicated in one of the worst on-set accidents in film history, with the actor now narrowly escaping criminal prosecution for the now-adjudicated involuntary manslaughter of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Such are pitfalls of acting fame, and Baldwin certainly heard it from Trump’s camp when facing a potential jail sentence, with Donald Trump Jr. tweeting, “Maybe Alec Baldwin will be lucky enough to share a cell with [Stormy Daniels' lawyer] Michael Avenatti.” Ouch.
2Dan Castellaneta onThe Simpsons
As if we didn’t oweDan Castellanetaenough for making Homer Simpson the most beloved voice in animated television for over 40 years, the vocal chameleon also gaveThe Simpsonsits best Trump impersonator in an episode from 2016, that correctly predicted Trump as Barack Obama’s replacement in the Oval Office. The voice sounds somewhere in between Homer and Trump, but as always works out thanks to Trump’s already-cartoonish candor in every one of his television appearances and speeches. Thanks, Donald, for providing comedy’s greatest 2020s touchstone, a slam dunk for the vocally-diverse stylings of one of the greatest voice actors of all time.
1James Austin Johnson onSaturday Night Live
JAJ, akaJames Austin Johnson— brought his raspy, disheveled vocal impression of the contemporary Trump into the light of popular culture when he first blessed Instagram with the off-putting-but-accurate vocal stylings of the MAGA man, reminding all of America that sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction. Johnson’s Instagram posts caught viral lightning in a bottle and essentially served as Johnson’s audition forSaturday Night Live, which was badly in need of a top-flight Trump impersonator once Trump took office. Nobody questioned this social media star’s validity on the cast of America’s most culturally-important late-night TV show after his first appearance during Season 47.
JAJ has essentially occupied the space once held by Phil Hartmanon theSNLcast, creating political characters who are simply such a great vocal likeness that you’d believe just about anything that projects from their mouth.
