Election years can be stressful. However, we can always count on Saturday Night Live to bring some levity in the midst of all the hard politics.
The hit NBC sketch show has managed to snag some of the best actors and actresses to portray politicians in the history of its 50 years. From Will Ferrell's impression of George W. Bush to Tina Fey's take on Sarah Palin — for which she won an Emmy — the show has always managed to book comedians who can turn some shocking political moments into funny bits.
Stars such as Dana Carvey, Kate McKinnon and Alec Baldwin have also lent their talents to satire our nation's top leaders.
Below, see the comedians who have expertly portrayed politicians on Saturday Night Live.
01
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Tina Fey as Sarah Palin
Tina Fey as Sarah Palin on SNL; Sarah Palin
Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. Will Heath/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty; Ross D Franklin/AP/Shutterstock
Who better to start with than the woman who won an Emmy award for her portrayal of Sarah Palin?
Tina Fey played the former governor of Alaska when she ran for vice president alongside Senator John McCain during the 2008 presidential campaign.
Speaking on whether or not she thought the famed impression was swaying peoples' perception of Palin, Fey told David Letterman, "I can't even sway people to watch 30 Rock."
"I can't even sway my kid to use the potty," she joked. "I can't sway anybody, but there's certainly been a strange reaction to it. I've [also] seen people who say, 'Oh, no, you're helping them.' "
02
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Will Ferrell as George W. Bush
Will Ferrell, George Bush
Will Ferrell as George Bush. Will Heath/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty; Brooks Kraft/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty
Will Ferrell ran so Tina Fey could fly.
Prior to the Palin impression, perhaps no other impersonation had garnered as much fanfare as Will Ferrell's take on George W. Bush.
His impression was so good, he even had the 43rd president believing he said a word that had totally been made up by the SNL cast.
While visiting the Today show, which Bush's daughter Jenna Bush Hager co-hosts with Hoda Kotb, Jenna told Ferrell her dad had been convinced — for years — that he had said the word "strategery" while in debate with Al Gore. It wasn't until SNL creator Lorne Michaels told the former president that the word had, in fact, been made up by the SNL cast that he realized the truth. Ferrell had also been in on the joke the entire time.
“Lorne Michaels told my dad, ‘You never said that,’ and he said, ‘What? I spent all those years [thinking I’d said it],’ ” Jenna said, "But you knew all along."
“Oh, I knew all along,” Ferrell revealed before offering a light apology. “I’m sorry, Mr. President," he said.
03
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Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump
Alec Baldwin, donald trump
Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump. Dana Edelson/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty; Chip Somodevilla/Getty
Alec Baldwin first went viral for his impression of Donald Trump when he stepped into the role back in 2016. The 30 Rock actor went on to impersonate the former president several times following that Oct. 2, 2016, season 42 opener.
"Lorne came to me and said, 'Do the Trump thing,' and we thought we were gonna do it for three episodes in the fall [thinking] there was no way he was gonna win," Baldwin told Jimmy Fallon while on his show in 2018. "And I remember laying in bed saying, 'Oh, no,'" the actor said of the moment he realized he'd have to do the impression for longer.
Like Fey, Alec Baldwin also won an Emmy for his impersonation.
04
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Amy Poehler and Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton
Amy Poehler and Kate McKinnon, Hillary Clinton
Amy Poehler and Kate McKinnon, Hillary Clinton. Dana Edelson/NBCUniversal via Getty (2); Cindy Ord/Getty
Hillary Clinton's position in the political landscape is so grand, she was played by two people on SNL.
Amy Poehler first played the powerhouse politician in the 2008 to 2009 season, opposite Fey's Sarah Palin. She even had the opportunity to do her impression in front of the future secretary of state as the two opened a March 1, 2008, episode together.
Poehler passed the baton to Kate McKinnon, who played Clinton during the 2014 to 2015 season. She too, got to do her impression in front of Clinton when they both visited the Ellen Show back in 2016.
05
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Kate McKinnon as Jeff Sessions
Kate McKinnon as Jeff Sessions
Kate McKinnon as Jeff Sessions. Will Heath/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty; Win McNamee/Getty
During her 10-year tenure at Saturday Night Live, McKinnon also played former Attorney General Jeff Sessions. And while the impersonation was well-received, the show gave the character an official goodbye during a Nov. 13, 2018, episode.
06
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Kate McKinnon as Rudy Giuliani
Kate McKinnon as Giuliani
Kate McKinnon as Rudy Giuliani. Will Heath/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty; Roy Rochlin/Getty
In 2020, McKinnon also stepped into Rudy Giuliani's shoes, a role which she told fellow SNL alum Seth Meyers oddly came naturally