It’s Presidents’ Day, and that got us thinking about NBC’s Saturday Night Live and its many portrayals of POTUSes—from Chevy Chase’s pratfall-prone Gerald Ford to James Austin Johnson‘s truth-averse Donald Trump.
Speaking of the latter, it’s also a fitting occasion to clock a milestone or two that JAJ is on track to reach during Season 51, which resumes Saturday, Feb. 28.
Johnson made his SNL debut Oct. 2, 2021, in the Season 47 premiere—though in that Cold Open he actually offered an impression of Joe Biden, who was about nine months into his term as president.
A little over a month later, in the Nov. 6 Cold Open, Johnson brought his Trump impression, honed during the pandemic on TikTok, to Studio 8H. His take on Trump debuted in a Justice With Judge Jeanine send-up, which featured Cecily Strong as the eponymous Pirro, Alex Moffat as Virginia governor-elect Glenn Youngkin, and Pete Davidson as anti-vaccine NFLer Aaron Rodgers. (Watch his Trump debut below.)
Johnson is now in his fifth season of SNL, and the opportunities to spoof Trump have been myriad—and, in fact, potentially record-breaking.
Thus far this season, JAJ has played Trump, a sitting president, in 10 out of 12 episodes. With eight more SNLs left to air this season, he is poised to pass the record set by Darrell Hammond, who served up his impression of sitting president Bill Clinton in 14 episodes of Season 23.
Johnson is also on track to maybe best Alec Baldwin‘s one-season record of appearances as a U.S. president (sitting or otherwise).
In Season 42, Baldwin played Trump a total of 17 times, starting off as a presidential candidate; JAJ’s Season 51 count is, again, currently at 10, with eight episodes remaining. It could be close, so mind your hanging chads!
Last but far from least, another meaningful milestone is within Johnson’s grasp—as one of SNL‘s most prolific impressionists ever.
Thus far, Johnson has played Trump a total of 49 times in his five-season SNL run. With one more, his will be only the third individual impression, of any kind, in SNL history to hit the 50 mark.
Dominating that impressionists pack is Hammond, who throughout his SNL career (14 seasons as a cast member plus the occasional reprise) played Clinton a total of 89 times. Placing a distant second is Baldwin, who appeared as Trump a total of 52 times—meaning, JAJ could commandeer the No. 2 slot with just four more turns as Trump over these next eight episodes.
Which presidential SNL impression from the past half-century gets your vote?
JAJ is fantastic, and I love them all, but my personal favorite is Will Farrell and his “Axis of Evil” sketch as George W. Bush! 😂