Alec Baldwin Cast as Saturday Night Live‘s New Donald Trump

By Joe Allen  |  September 28, 2016 | 4:58pm
Images via NBC/YouTube, Mike Windle/Getty
Comedy News Alec Baldwin

Alec Baldwin has never been a cast member on Saturday Night Live, but he’s hosted the show more than anyone else. Now, the show has cast the actor in a pivotal role. When the show returns for season 42, Baldwin will play reality TV star turned Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The role was played last season by Taran Killam, who is not returning this season, and former cast member Darrell Hammond, who re-joined the show in 2014 as its announcer. Hammond will continue in that role this year, and will appear on the show occasionally.

Trump hosted SNL in November of 2015, prompting outrage from many who believed that arrangement was an inappropriate one. Executive producer Lorne Michaels made the decision to cast Baldwin over the summer. The arrangement will be similar to the one the show had last season with Larry David, who played Bernie Sanders with glorious results.

Baldwin has hosted SNL a record 16 times since 1990. This will be the actor’s first time playing Trump, whom he has expressed mixed feelings about throughout the course of this long campaign.

Baldwin will make his debut this Saturday, when the show returns with host Margot Robbie. Lin-Manuel Miranda will host the following week on Oct. 8, exactly a month before Americans cast their vote for President. Following that date, Baldwin will find out exactly how much longer he’s expected to play the role. Check out a promo below for a sneak peek at Baldwin’s Trump.

 
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