When did Alec Baldwin stop playing Trump? Actor recalls former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer saying Melania loves his impression

Alec Baldwin’s Donald Trump impression on Saturday Night Live earned him many fans and a Primetime Emmy in 2017. The Boss Baby voice actor recently revealed that his portrayal of the US President might have also impressed First Lady Melania Trump, according to Page Six.

The Baldwins star garnered much praise when he started playing the 45th and 47th POTUS (then nominee) on SNL in 2016 while covering the presidential race that year. Alec continued to portray Trump until November 2020, when the latter lost to Joe Biden. The Mission: Impossible – Fallout actor wrote on X (formerly Twitter) about losing his SNL gig after Trump’s loss while expressing his joy:

“I don’t believe I’ve ever been this overjoyed to lose a job before!”

It was not the first time the Crescent City actor expressed a desire to move away from Donald Trump’s role on SNL. In 2019, when The Apprentice (TV series) star was still in power, Alec Baldwin spoke about how he was “done with” the impression. During a conversation with USA Today, the three-time Emmy winner spoke about wanting to leave the role.

Alec Baldwin was done playing Donald Trump by 2019

During a conversation with USA Today, the 66-year-old actor was asked about a name he would have liked to succeed him as Trump on SNL. Alec Baldwin named Darrell Hammond, praising him for being a “better impressionist.” He also told USA Today how he received criticism from many after his portrayal was compared with that of Anthony Atamanuik. Baldwin added,

“It also was something I thought to myself: "I really don't have a lot invested in my Trump impersonation, so please find someone and convince Lorne (Michaels) to replace me." I'm completely down with that. Winning the Emmy for that show aside, it was not some career goal of mine.”

Alec Baldwin continued,

“I had a lot of fun with (the cast), and when Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider wrote (Trump sketches in 2016 and 2017), that was new, it was fresh and the ratings were good. But I feel like I'm done with that now. I'm so done with that.”

The 97 Minutes actor further spoke about his potential departure from SNL,

“I can't imagine I would do it again. I just can't. They should find somebody who wants to do it. They're all my dear friends and I love going there, but the other thing is that I'm going to go to work this fall in a way I haven't done in a while.”

He mentioned the birth of his son (Romeo) and how family life has kept him busier. Although Alec Baldwin continued to play Donald Trump until 2020, he was ultimately replaced by James Austin Johnson. The comedian-actor has been parodying the current US President on Saturday Night Live since 2021.

Baldwin returned to SNL Season 50 to play Robert F. Kennedy Jr. instead of Trump. He also attended the Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary special and presented the commercial parodies montage with Sarah Sherman.

Alec Baldwin recalls getting told about Melania seemingly loving his Donald Trump impression

The Aloha actor was recently at a 92nd Street Y event in New York City, per Page Six. Baldwin recalled the former White House press secretary Sean Spicer's chat with the SNL crew a few years back. Alec claimed Spicer seemingly revealed how Melania was impressed by the actor’s Trump parody.

According to Page Six, the Paris Can Wait star was heard saying,

“Spicer… Maybe he had a couple drinks, I don’t know; I wasn’t there… He says to the people at SNL, ‘Melania watches the show every Saturday night. And she points at the TV and says “That’s what he’s like! That is what he’s like! Exactly! Alec Baldwin is exactly like Donald!”’”

Alec Baldwin further told the crowd,

“We’re gagging laughing, but it made sense! She loves when they give it to him, you know what I mean?”

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Melania never publicly revealed her opinion of Baldwin’s portrayal, but Donald Trump blasted the actor when he was running for the presidential post in 2016. Trump took to X (formerly Twitter) to call SNL unfunny and described the show’s sketch of him as a “hit job.” He also proclaimed that Alec Baldwin’s impression was underwhelming.

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