Alec Baldwin Debuts as ‘SNL’s’ Trump: “I Have the Best Judgment”

NBC’s Saturday Night Live has officially welcomed its new Donald Trump. 

Alec Baldwin debuted his Trump impression on Saturday’s season premiere, in a debate that also starred castmember Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton. 

Michael Che as Lester Holt moderated the debate, telling the audience: “There is no cheering, no clapping and to the Trump supporters: No shirt, no shoes, no service.”

McKinnon came out as Clinton, coughing, but then somersaulted onto the stage. “I’m better than ever, let’s do this!” she exclaimed.

Baldwin as Trump said hello to the audience and vowed, “I’m going to be so good tonight. I am going to be so calm, and so presidential that all of you watching are going to cream your jeans.”

Answering a question about the economy, Trump told Holt, “Our jobs are fleeing this country. They’re going to Mexico. They’re going to Jina,” he said, trying to pronounce “China.”

“I will stop that. If Hillary knew how, she would have done it already. Period. End of story. I stayed calm, just like I promised,” he told Holt, declaring victory. “It. Is. Over. Goodnight, Hofstra.”

When Holt reminded him that the debate was still going on, Trump quickly responded. “My microphone is broken. She broke it. With Obama,” he told the moderator. “Can you hear that? I think it’s somebody sniffling here.”

Holt asked Clinton what she thought about that statement. “I think I’m going to be president,” she responded. “I mean, this man is clearly unfit to be commander-in-chief.”

Trump interrupted after each statement she made. “Wrong,” he replied.

“He is a bully,” Clinton said. Trump: “Shut up.”

“He started the birther movement,” she said. Trump: “You did.”

On the war in Iraq, Trump was clear: “Ask anyone in the world, ask Sean Hannity. I told Sean Hannity,” expanding the original story he told during the first debate, now including an intimate moment with the TV pundit. 

Clinton later declared she had better judgment than Trump, but Trump responded that he had “the best temperament, she’s the one with the bad temperament. She’s always screaming, she’s constantly lying, her hair is crazy, her face is completely orange, except around the eyes where it’s white.

“The thing about the blacks … is that they’re killing each other,” Trump added, after Clinton ceded her remaining minutes so that Trump could keep talking. “They’re all killing each other, just like I am killing this debate.” 

When the debate was almost over, Clinton yelled out, “Alicia Machado!” explaining that the former Miss Universe is a “political prop” whom Trump had insulted over the years. 

“Why are we talking about this woman?” he asked. “We should be talking about the important issues, like Rosie O’Donnell, and how she’s a fat loser and everyone agrees with me and I just wanted to bring that up in a presidential debate,” he uttered, once again declaring victory in the debate. 

In her closing statements, Clinton vowed to continue running for president “until the day I die. And I will never die.” 

The season premiere was the first appearance of Baldwin as Trump, who was portrayed last season by Darrell Hammond, a one-time castmember who returned to the show in 2014 as its announcer. Before Hammond, Trump was played by Taran Killam, whose contract was not picked up for season 42.

A personal friend of Michaels’ who also starred on the Michaels-produced sitcom 30 Rock, Baldwin officially signed on earlier this week and starred in a promo that debuted on social media on Wednesday. The actor has guest-hosted a record-setting 16 times since his SNL debut in 1990. 

The Oct. 1 season-premiere episode was hosted by Margot Robbie with musical guest The Weeknd. On Oct. 8, Hamilton creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda will assume hosting duties, with Twenty One Pilots appearing as musical guest.