Saturday Night Live has always made fun of presidents, from Chevy Chase playing Gerald Ford to Dana Carvey playing George H.W. Bush to Darrell Hammond playing Bill Clinton. Typically presidents expect they're going to get mocked, and although they might not like it, they try to show a good sense of humor about it.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, SNL cast frequent host Alec Baldwin to play Donald Trump, replacing Darrell Hammond. The switch made sense, since Darrell had played Trump since the early 2000's, and today's Trump-the-politician is much different than Trump-The-Apprentice-Host.
Also, Alec's impression is a breath of fresh air, since he has a different comedic take. Alec says he plays Trump as if he's always trying to find the right word, but never does, while constantly pouting, scrunching his face up "like you're trying to suck the chrome off the fender of a car." The impression is a huge hit, but in interviews, Alec has suggested he's tired of it. Yesterday he told The Hollywood Reporter, "Every time I do it now, it's like agony. Agony." And it appears the President read the interview.
Previous presidents never complained about SNL sketches, but President Trump is absolutely furious about Alec's impression of him. He slammed the actor in a Tweet this morning - before 6AM, no less! (Somebody wakes up angry.) Well, actually, he wrote two tweets. Trump's first tweet had a few typos - calling Alec "Alex" and spelling dying "dieing" - so he deleted it and reposted it, writing:
"Alec Baldwin, whose dying mediocre career was saved by his terrible impersonation of me on SNL, now says playing me was agony. Alec, it was agony for those who were forced to watch. Bring back Darrell Hammond, funnier and a far greater talent!"
Well, Donald Trump is right about one thing: Darrell Hammond is a great talent. In fact, he never left the show. Darrell is still with SNL as the announcer - and in case they need someone to play Bill Clinton. It doesn't seem like Alec has a "dying mediocre career," or that people think his Trump impression is "agony." And it's unclear who exactly is being "forced to watch" it. But hey, the President is entitled to rage-tweet what he wants at six in the morning.
Here's the thing, though: Never pick a fight with a comedian on Twitter. Alec Baldwin fired back at the President with a string of Tweets that are hilarious:
"Agony though it may be, I’d like to hang in there for the impeachment hearings, the resignation speech, the farewell helicopter ride to Mara-A-Lago. You know. The Good Stuff. That we’ve all been waiting for."
"Looking forward to the Trump Presidential Library. A putting green. Recipes for chocolate cake. A live Twitter feed for visitors to post on. A little black book w the phone numbers of porn stars. You’re in and out in five minutes. Just like..."
"And Mr President... please ask your wife to stop calling me for SNL tickets. (Hey, Melania...we’ve got Charles Barkley this Saturday!)"
I bet playing Donald Trump won't feel like "agony" any more, knowing how much the impression gets under the president's skin.