Alec Baldwin is stepping into the role of Donald Trump for the season premiere of Saturday Night Live this weekend. And speaking to Extra on Thursday night, he joked about why he’s doing the impression.
“That’s what I wanted to do, I wanted to make his wish come true,” said Baldwin, when the reporter mentioned that Trump has said in the past he’d like to see the actor play him. “So when they asked me, I said, ‘I’m only going to do this for Donald.’ I’m doing it for him.”
In truth, it was actually Baldwin’s 30 Rock co-star Tina Fey who suggested that he play Trump.
Baldwin said he doesn’t feel like he has his Trump impression down pat but that there’s “an eternity” between now and Saturday night. He gave fans a preview of his Trump impersonation, though, by speaking how Trump might speak in Spanish.
“Hillary, escuchame ahora mismo [listen to me right now],” he said, with hand motions and facial gestures to emphasize his point.
Baldwin said he thought Trump could have won the first presidential debate on Monday but definitely did not. “I think the debate really, really crippled him,” said Baldwin, criticizing Trump for saying it was “smart” to not pay taxes.
“If not paying taxes makes you smart, I must be one of the dumbest people in this country,” said Baldwin.
Saturday Night Live‘s Colin Jost and Michael Che were on The View on Friday and Jost said he watched the debate knowing Baldwin was going to impersonate Trump and was “shocked” by how many of Baldwin’s mannerisms he saw in Trump’s performance, particularly the candidate calling out moderator Lester Holt.
The View hosts asked Jost and Che what Hillary Clinton and Trump were like behind the scenes when they visited SNL.
Che joked that Trump requested Mexicans in his dressing room. “He said ‘Close the door, don’t ask questions.'” Jost said he found both presidential candidates to be very charming in person.
As for the debate, Che said “it looked like two old people fighting over custody” and Jost characterized it as “sniffles and stamina.”
Jost also talked about their costar Leslie Jones and the bullying she’s had to endure this summer. “She’s tough,” said Jost, “She’s been through a lot in general so I knew she was going to be ok and bounce back from it.” He added that he thinks she had a successful summer and she seems happy to be back at work with her friends and people who support her.
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