No character has said “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!” more often than Donald Trump—and soon, neither will have any individual SNL cast member.
With the help of a long line of impersonators—Alec Baldwin, James Austin Johnson, Darrell Hammond, Taran Killam, and even Phil Hartman—Trump has closed out Saturday Night Live’s cold open a whopping 74 times. That’s more than any other character, real or imagined, in SNL history.
But the next time “Trump” delivers the show’s most iconic line, he will have said it as many times as SNL‘s real-life LFNY leader, former cast member and current announcer, Darrell Hammond.
Hammond currently holds the overall record with 75 deliveries of the phrase, compiled across his two-decade run playing everyone from Bill Clinton to Chris Matthews. When Trump hits 75, he’ll tie that mark. And at 76, he’ll become the new champ—even if it took five guys in orange makeup to get him there.
The Trump breakdown looks like this:
- Alec Baldwin – 41
- James Austin Johnson – 24
- Darrell Hammond – 5
- Phil Hartman – 2
- Taran Killam – 2
It’s a fitting milestone for the most cold-opened president in SNL history. Compare Trump’s 74 to his real-life Oval Office peers:
- Trump – 74
- George W. Bush – 39
- Bill Clinton – 28
- Joe Biden – 25
- Barack Obama – 24
- George H.W. Bush – 22
- Ronald Reagan – 9
- Gerald Ford – 6
- Jimmy Carter – 6
- Richard Nixon – 2
Trump’s dominance isn’t just a numbers game—it’s a reflection of his grip on the show’s political DNA. Since 2015, “Trump” has been SNL’s go-to opening act, whether it’s Baldwin’s blustering chaos or Johnson’s loopy non sequiturs. The performances have varied, but the presence has never wavered.
Trump himself, of course, has railed against SNL, calling it “terrible,” “unfunny,” and “rigged”—even while his likeness has kept ushering in new episodes week after week.
Now, with one more “Live from New York,” he’ll own yet another distinction. And the way things are going, he’s likely to to continue to run up the score into the foreseeable future.
Saturday Night Live returns for its Season 51 premiere with host Bad Bunny and musical guest Doja Cat this Saturday, Oct. 4,
