Alec Baldwin has been Saturday Night Live's go-to impersonator of President Donald Trump for a while now, but he wasn't the show's first option for Darrell Hammond's follow-up. Pete Davidson recently recalled his personal nightmare of the time when the entire male cast was required to audition as Trump back in 2015 in an attempt to find the right person to portray him. Needless to say, his impression of our current President was particularly forgettable:
It was bad. First of all, I'm 10 pounds, so I looked insane. They made us all get dressed up and tanned up. I sounded like Thunderlips from Rocky III. It was a nightmare. If I could get my hands on this tape, it's embarrassing as fuck.
Pete Davidson's New York accent did him no favors in attempting to replicate fellow New-Yorker Donald Trump, as he confessed his impression sounded closer to the pro-wrestler played by Hulk Hogan at the beginning of Rocky 3. In addition to that, Davidson and the 72-year-old President have very dissimilar body types, and while Davidson could've worn a special suit to look a little bulkier, it probably still would've looked weird. Davidson describing the experience as a "nightmare" means he wasn't all that disappointed when he missed out on the gig, even if it meant he would've been a little more utilized on Saturday Night Live than he has been since.
Pete Davidson didn't reveal the tape of his audition to Variety, although the did have a picture to show from that day. The picture shows Davidson in makeup as Donald Trump, and the look on his face appears to indicate he's already feeling like this isn't the best idea:
Pictured just over Pete Davidson's shoulder are a bunch of other wigs, which feature the names of Beck Bennett, Taran Killam, and Aidy Bryant. The fact that Saturday Night Live may have also been auditioning some of its female cast for the role is interesting, that is, unless Bryant's wig happens to be one fashioned after Donald Trump's then political opponent, Hilary Clinton. It's hard to imagine which is less believable, the fact that Saturday Night Live thought they could have Davidson portray President Trump or the fact that they might have auditioned anyone other than Kate McKinnon to play Clinton!
Pete Davidson and Saturday Night Live will return for Season 44 on NBC later this year. For a look at what's coming to television in the meantime, be sure to visit our summer and fall premiere guides. For more on Saturday Night Live, check out which celebrity was terrified to grace the stage the night of her performance, but ended up saying that fear ultimately helped her out.
