Alec Baldwin Returns to ‘SNL,’ But Not as Donald Trump

Alec Baldwin rejoined Saturday Night Live for this week’s cold open, but he didn’t play former President Donald Trump. Baldwin played Fox News anchor Bret Baier while Maya Rudolph returned to play Vice President Kamala Harris in a parody of their real-life interview earlier this week. The performance got a lot of cheers from the live audience, while cast member James Austin Johnson played Trump instead.

The cheers were overwhelming when the lights came up on Baldwin, and he distinguished his new character right away. He introduced himself as Baier, joking: “Yes, I do look like someone made a businessman in Minecraft.” He and Rudolph traded punchlines, while the overarching parody of the interview took shape. They spoke over each other, joking about how little substance there was in their conversation and acknowledging the biases they wouldn’t give up. The skit also included cutaways to Johnson playing Trump and Dana Carvey playing President Joe Biden.

The skit mimicked Fox News’ real-life mistake of showing the wrong clip of Trump during the interview. Harris pointed out in the moment that the clip did not match Baier’s question, but Baier didn’t seem to understand. The next day, he had gotten things straight and he showed viewers the clip “I meant to roll.”

This was the fourth episode of SNL Season 50, and in an election year, it’s no surprise that the show is focusing so heavily on political parodies. This episode was hosted by Michael Keaton, who is promoting Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – now in theaters. Keaton did not participate in any political parodies, nor did musical guest Billie Eilish, though she did appear in a pre-recorded sketch called “TikTok.” Former cast member Andy Samberg was also back once again, appearing in the opening monologue.

Samberg was one of the surprise celebrity guests that kicked off Season 50. He played Harris’ husband, Dough Emhoff, in the first three episodes of the season, while Carvey played Biden and comedian Jim Gaffigan played Harris’ running mate Tim Walz. So far, the cast of political impressions has made a big splash on social media, and with the election itself coming up fast, the wildest moments are probably ahead.

Baldwin played Trump on SNL starting with the show’s parodies of the 2016 presidential election, and he held the role continuously through the 2020 presidential election. Along the way he won an Emmy for the role, and he became the most frequent repeat host of SNL at a record 17 times. Harris has also won an Emmy for her impression of Harris, so the show is clearly a vehicle for stardom.

This week’s episode of SNL is streaming now on Peacock, with individual clips available on YouTube. The show will be back next Saturday with host John Mulaney and musical guest Chappell Roan.