5 of ‘SNL’s’ most notable presidential impersonators

“Saturday Night Live” (“SNL”) kicked off its 50th season over the weekend with a cold opener sketch heavy with political impersonations — with one of the most lauded online being “SNL” alum Dana Carvey’s portrayal of President Biden.

The NBC mainstay has mocked commanders in chief since its earliest days, with a bevy of comedians embodying the nation’s leaders to audiences’ amusement.

Here are some of its notable:

Dana Carvey: Biden, Bush 41

Carvey, an Emmy-winning cast member of the show from 1986 to 1993, surprised audiences Saturday when he meanderingly took the stage as Biden, alongside fellow “SNL” alum Maya Rudolph’s portrayal of Vice President Harris.

When thanked in the skit for ending his reelection bid so Harris could take the top of the Democratic presidential ticket, Carvey’s Biden proclaimed: “I didn’t want to. They made me!” before trailing off with “And guess what, by the way, the fact of the matter is …”

Maya Rudolph as Vice President Harris, left, and Dana Carvey as President Biden, act during the cold open sketch on “Saturday Night Live” in New York on Sept. 28, 2024. (Will Heath, NBC via AP)

During a mini episode of the comedy podcast “Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade,” Carvey described how his Biden turn over the weekend came to be.

“It’s been top secret. I’ve kept it under wraps for weeks,” he excitedly said, noting that “SNL” head honcho Lorne Michaels personally asked him to take on the role, after Carvey had previously shown off the “silly and weird” Biden take he had developed on the podcast and in YouTube clips.

“I didn’t see it out there enough — a Biden impression,” he said. “A lot brilliant Trumps … Biden is trickier.”

Carvey’s Biden take wasn’t his first remarkable presidential impersonation, though. He is famously known for his uncanny portrayal of President George H.W. Bush in the 1980s and 90s. The two even became unlikely friends, as CBS Evening News highlighted in a report after Bush’s death.

Will Ferrell: George W. Bush

Comedian Will Ferrell’s silly and wildly popular portrayal of President George W. Bush started on “SNL” but ultimately made it to Broadway in the limited-run, “You’re Welcome America. A Final Night With George W. Bush,” which also became an HBO special.

Will Ferrell arrives at the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special at Rockefeller Plaza on Feb. 15, 2015, in New York. (Evan Agostini, Invision via AP)

Ferrell regularly played the role on “SNL” during Bush’s two terms in the 2000s. He brought back the impression in an on-the-spot moment with the former president’s daughter, Jenna Bush Hager, during an appearance on the “Today” show in 2022.

Darrell Hammond: Bill Clinton

While several comedians have portrayed President Clinton over the years — including a notable take from the late Phil Hartman — Darrell Hammond held the role for the longest on “SNL,” including during the Monica Lewinsky scandal and its fallout, which is known as a peak time for the sketch comedy show.

President Clinton, left, laughs with look-alike Darrell Hammond of “Saturday Night Live” at the 53rd annual dinner of the Radio and Television Correspondents’ Association, April 10, 1997, in Washington. (Wilfredo Lee, Associated Press)

In a 2015 interview with Time magazine, Hammond described the development of his thick-drawl Clinton impression on the comedy stage, including his signature thumbs-up, lip-bite combo move.

Alec Baldwin: Donald Trump

Actor and frequent “SNL” host Alec Baldwin took on the regular role of impersonating President Trump during the 2016 election cycle and into Trump’s time in the White House. Baldwin won an Emmy for the portrayal in 2017 and was nominated two other times, but Trump wasn’t exactly a fan.

Actor Alec Baldwin poses in the press room with the award for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series for “Saturday Night Live” at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, Sept. 17, 2017. (Jordan Strauss, Invision via AP file)

The two had a long-simmering feud on Twitter, as the platform was then known, and Trump often criticized the “terrible” impersonation.

Baldwin, for his part, said he didn’t enjoy playing Trump anymore and found the act to be painful.

“Every time I do it now, it’s like agony. Agony. I can’t,” he said in 2018.

Chevy Chase: Gerald Ford

President Ford fell down the Air Force One stairs on a rainy day in 1975 and handed then-fledgling “SNL” a gift in comedian Chevy Chase’s bumbling portrayal of the “klutz in chief.”

Chase ran with the role, or stumbled, accordingly, fumbling with phones on the Resolute Desk, tipping over American flags and Christmas trees and dropping countless “important” papers.

Ronald Nessen breaks out in a smile as comedian Chevy Chase, clad in football headgear, spoofs President Ford during a rehearsal, April 16, 1976, in New York for Saturday’s showing of “SNL.” (Associated Press)

Though the portrayal wasn’t flattering, Ford reportedly embraced it as he took over the country in the shadow of the Watergate scandal.

Michaels, the longtime “SNL” producer, told The New York Times in a 2006 article that Ford’s attitude toward the portrayal ultimately signaled it was OK to have a little fun when satirizing the nation’s commander in chief.