Screengrab via NBC
- Many Twitter users are agreeing with President Donald Trump's tweet that Darrell Hammond's "Saturday Night Live" impression of Trump was "funnier" than Alec Baldwin's.
- Trump called Alec Baldwin's impression an "agony" to watch in a tweet Friday morning, while also suggesting that "SNL" bring back the "far greater talent" of Darrell Hammond.
- Hammond told The Washington Post that he was emotionally devastated and "started crying" when he lost out on the role to Baldwin in September 2016.
President Donald Trump took to Twitter Friday morning to rail on Alec Baldwin's "Saturday Night Live" impression of him as an "agony" to watch, while praising Darrell Hammond, a previous Trump impressionist for "SNL," as a "funnier and a far greater talent" that the show should "bring back."
What's more surprising than Trump's well-established displeasure with Baldwin's impression is that many have taken to Twitter to agree with Trump, specifically about Hammond's performance being better than Baldwin's.
Hammond lost out on the Trump role to Baldwin in September 2016. Hammond told The Washington Post a year later that he was emotionally devastated by the change.
"I just started crying," Hammond said. "In front of everyone. I couldn't believe it. I was in shock, and I stayed in shock for a long time. Everything wiped out. The brand, me, what I do. Corporate appearances canceled. It was a hell of a shock, and all of it was apparent to me in one breath. That ends me."
"SNL" showrunner Lorne Michaels told The Post that the reason for the change was that he "needed another force, on an acting level, to have the power that Trump was embodying then," in the run up to the 2016 presidential election.
Watch Hammond play Trump in a 2004 "SNL" skit that also features the real Trump:
This is actually true. Darrell Hammond does a much better Trump than Baldwin. https://t.co/BDdgb6eGqv
- Jamie Kirchick (@jkirchick) March 2, 2018
It's truly unfortunate but trump is 100% right about Alec Baldwin, and Darrell Hammond
- nuanced opinion guy (@charles_kinbote) March 2, 2018
I do actually agree that Darrell Hammond is a great talent.
- Jenavieve Hatch (@jenavievehatch) March 2, 2018