Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

'SNL' Just Added A New Cast Member Whose Trump Impression Is Blowing Everyone's Minds

'SNL' Just Added A New Cast Member Whose Trump Impression Is Blowing Everyone's Minds
@shrimpJAJ; Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Saturday Night Live recently announced the addition of three new cast members to the iconic show, and one of them does an impression of former Republican President Donald Trump that is so dead-on if you closed your eyes you might confuse him for the real thing.

James Austin Johnson's take on the former President has been delighting the internet for a while, but now it seems we'll be seeing it on our TVs too when SNL returns for its 47th season. And with Trump still ubiquitous and hinting at a 2024 run, it's easy to see why.


After all, someone's going to have to do Trump for the show and, well—see for yourself below.

If Johnson isn't the guy for the job it's hard to imagine who could be.


Shockingly good, isn't it?

So how does he do it? Johnson spoke with Vanity Fair about the impression last year just after the election, telling the magazine how exactly he creates this brand of somehow insanely realistic absurdity.

"I tend to hover around Rally Trump, and there's absolutely no rehearsal there. I pick a pop-culture topic, usually something that is an actual opinion I actually hold."

Hence the Trump monologue about Super Mario Brothers above—or this one, about Trump complaining about how Pokémon games work.


Of course, Johnson has big shoes to fill if he's going to be SNL's new resident Trump lampooner. Actor Alec Baldwin's Trump impression was so perfect he won an Emmy for the performance in 2017.

But Baldwin has been over the gig for a while.

Back in 2019, he told Deadline doing the impression sometimes made him "hope a meteor hits this building and it kills me" because the former President "likes any attention he gets." When Trump lost the 2020 election, Baldwin tweeted that he'd never been "this overjoyed to lose a job before!"

If anyone is a worthy successor to Baldwin, it's Johnson, and on Twitter people were all about this new SNL casting choice.










The new season of SNL begins this Saturday, October 2.

More from People/donald-trump

The golden Oscar statue as seen at The Academy's 96th Oscars .
Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images

Oscar voters skip films, upset fans

Remember to press play… then put it on MUTE?

That’s the loophole that certain Oscar voters revealed after the Academy announced that members must now watch all films nominated in each category.

Keep Reading Show less
Ilona Maher
Julian Finney/Getty Images

Olympian Ilona Maher Shows Off Bikini With Inspiring Message—And Fans Are Applauding

Even incredibly powerful Olympic rugby star Ilona Maher sometimes worries about her body size and shape, but she continues to advocate for body positivity and self-defined femininity and beauty.

Maher, a U.S. Women's National Rugby Team Olympic Bronze Medalist, was featured on the digital cover of the Sept. 2024 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.

Keep Reading Show less
Robert De Niro
Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM

Robert De Niro's Daughter Publicly Comes Out As Trans In Powerful New Interview

Airyn De Niro, 29, daughter of actor Robert De Niro, has publicly come out as a trans woman in a new interview with Them.

Though parts of her journey have been previously reported, Airyn says this is the first time she’s truly felt “seen.”

Keep Reading Show less
Howard Lutnick
MSNBC

Commerce Secretary Ripped For His Dystopian Vision Of Generations Of Families Working At U.S. Factories

MAGA Republican President Donald Trump's Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, spoke on MSNBC about the Trump administration's version of the American dream.

It doesn't involve universal healthcare, a living wage, and access to food and housing.

Keep Reading Show less
Pete Hegseth
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Hegseth Gets Hit With Awkward Fact-Check After Bragging About Ending 'Woke' Program

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was swiftly fact-checked after he claimed in a post on X that he'd ended the "woke" Women, Peace & Security (WPS) program because it was an initiative created by the Biden administration.

For the political right, "wokeness" or "wokeism" generally refers to a left-leaning perspective that acknowledges the widespread existence of racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination in American society.

Keep Reading Show less