“Saturday Night Live” Parodies of Political Figures: Ranking the Best Impressions

“Saturday Night Live” is notoriously known for its many impressions, especially of political figures. A handful of comedians and guests on the show have portrayed politicians throughout the years. Viewers had many different reactions to these various impressions; some thought they were controversial, inaccurate, hilarious, or spot on. This list will be a breakdown of the 5 most popular and well-known impressions of politicians throughout the years.

Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris

Maya Rudolph has been portraying current Vice President Kamala Harris since September 2019. Rudolph originally impersonated Harris when she was the Senator of California in the comedic sketch titled “DNC Town Hall.” Rudolph named Harris as “America’s cool aunt” in the original sketch creating an exciting ongoing impression for SNL.

Since then, Rudolph has impersonated Harris numerous times on SNL and has caught the attention of not only fans of the show but Kamala Harris herself. From the uncanny laugh to the depictions of rallies and debates, Rudolph has created a well-known and accurate impression of the vice president and failed presidential candidate.

In the pre-election episode of SNL on Nov. 2, Harris appeared in the opening skit of SNL alongside Rudolph as her mirror image. “Keep Calm-ala and Carry On-ala” said Rudolph and Harris in unison as they both laughed. At the end of the exciting sketch, the pair delivered the signature line of “Live from New York it’s Saturday Night.” This appearance was a surprise to many, but it only furthered the success SNL has had surrounding Rudolph’s impression.

Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump

Alec Baldwin debuted his impression of Donald Trump in October 2016. He appeared in a debate skit with Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton based on their first presidential debate.

Although just a recurring host on the show and not a cast member, Baldwin’s impersonation of Trump became very well known. As a 17-time host of the show he frequently played this character until 2019.

Not only was Baldwin a hilarious impersonator of Trump but he was also an outspoken critic of Trump himself. Trump criticized Baldwin as well. During 2016 Trump came to Twitter to criticize Baldwin’s portrayal saying “Alec Baldwin’s portrayal stinks. Media rigging election!”

Although the reactions weren’t great from the impersonated, fans of the show and people all over America found the impression to be hilariously accurate. In 2019, Baldwin announced that he would no longer be portraying Trump which was saddening to some but as SNL always does, they found a new impersonator and moved on.

Although not the impersonator anymore, Baldwin will go down in history as one of the most famous politician impressions on the show.

Jason Sudeikis as Joe Biden

Jason Sudeikis first portrayed President Joe Biden in 2007 and continued to impersonate him until 2021. He is most well-known for his impressions of Biden during his vice presidency.

In 2013, he joined James Austin Johnson as they both impersonated Biden side by side and referred to the vice presidency as the “easiest gig in the world.” According to IMDB, Sudeikis won the best SNL Joe Biden in the show’s history based on a vote from viewers.

From being a cast member of the show to leaving and hosting later on, Sudeikis has portrayed Biden many times making him the most memorable. His specific impression of Biden has been described as iconic by many due to his many appearances and hilarious skits.

His last appearance as Biden was in a sketch titled “Ghost of Biden Past” where he portrayed a much younger Biden adding great humor to the episode. He has since retired this impression and others have taken over but due to his many years of service to this impersonation, the baton was due to be passed on.

Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton

Kate McKinnon has portrayed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, since March 2015, shortly after Clinton’s presidential candidacy announcement. McKinnon did several sketches as Hillary Clinton including campaign ad sketches, debates with Alec Baldwin as Trump, campaign addresses, and more.

She also did a more difficult sketch during the 2016 presidential election. According to an Esquire article, “the staff started the evening working on some sketches based on the assumption that Hillary Clinton would win that day’s presidential election.” As we know now, Donald Trump won the 2016 election, so they quickly had to change their sketches to write around the opposite outcome.

McKinnon had to quickly portray this situation in a different way but was successful. Her impression is known by many and thought of as a very funny and accurate impression.

Her last portrayal of Clinton was in 2020 before the election and has not returned since due to McKinnon retiring from SNL. Other actors had portrayed Clinton in the past, but McKinnon’s portrayal is the most popular impression as well as the most recent.

Tina Fey as Sarah Palin

Tina Fey first impersonated the former governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, on SNL in September 2008. Tina Fey was easily cast for this role, given their stark similarities.

Years before this impression, Fey was a cast member and head writer at SNL but left the show in 2006. She came back multiple times as a host and then eventually she gained her role as Palin.

Fey gave her best Alaskan accent when playing this character and fans were drawn to it. This portrayal had a short run but is known by many as one of the greatest impressions for the season.

Fey was also the only person to ever impersonate Palin making it stand out as an impression. Fey went on to win an Emmy for her performance as Palin in the “Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series” category in 2008.

Fans and writers of this show greatly enjoyed this impression making it one of the best in the show’s history.

Many politicians throughout history have been portrayed on SNL but these were just some of the best and most well-known. The famous comedy show will continue to portray others in the future, and many can be added to this wonderful list of talented actors!