The season 41 premiere of Saturday Night Live is just a few short weeks away and, with the rev up to an election year in high gear, the cast members must be scrambling to get their impressions of the crowded field of presidential candidate hopefuls in order.
Kate McKinnon's got Hillary Clinton on lock, but who among the cast is best to bring Donald Trump's bluster to life? Is McKinnon open to pulling double duty as Clinton AND Trump? Sadly, no, as the SNL star told The New York Times Magazine, "I would have a hard time. So then who should take on Trump? And who's got what it takes to find the funny in Jeb Bush? This is serious business, people!
Read on for our predictions!
Naturally, the most pressing question is who to put in a ridiculous Trump wig because, let's face it, the former Celebrity Apprentice host isn't going anywhere anytime soon. And the best person to bring to life that potent combination of unbridled ego and unfiltered, slightly racist dialogue is none other than Taran Killam. While it might mean someone else will have to bring to life Trump's most famous supporter, Tom Brady, Taran's the best bet for reaching Donald's boisterous heights.
Our choice for Mike Huckabee is Bobby Moynihan, who should be able to easily tap into the former Arkansas governor's devoutly religious and folksy charms. Bonus points for any sketch that'll also include Aidy Bryant as Huckabee's new sidekick, controversial Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis!
As for the former governor of Florida, there's not much in Jeb's personality that screams comedy, but if anyone can break down the latest Bush on the scene, it'll be Beck Bennett. After all, this is the guy who brought Baby Boss to life. Surely he can work wonders with this vanilla subject.
Ted Cruz looks kind of like a weird guy. Kyle Mooney is great at playing weird guys. Done.
When it comes to Ben Carson, we'd love to suggest Jay Pharoah, but he's still busy bringing down the house with his Barack Obama. So, we'll give it to our second choice, Michael Che. While he doesn't make a habit of appearing on the show when not behind his Weekend Update desk, Michael would be able to channel Ben's slight stiffness with ease.
While Kate could work wonders with Carly Fiorina's tightly-wound former CEO, she can't play every woman in the field, which leads us to Cecily Strong. Get Cecily a bob wig and let her square off with Kate's Hillary. Instant hilarity!
Lastly, we've got Bernie Sanders. While there's no immediately obvious choice in the cast—and we're running out of guys to choose from, to be honest—but our choice to help SNL viewers feel the Bern is Pete Davidson. Now, hear us out, we know Pete's the youngest man in the cast and Bernie is oldest candidate in the race, but that's where the humor lies. Imagine the 21-year-old Pete playing the 74-year-old senator. Hilarious, right? You're welcome.
And if Joe Biden does decide to enter the race, well, the show's going to have to call in a favor from Jason Sudeikis. Somehow the cast of SNL has found itself in need of more white males—and that's a sentence that's never been typed in the history of words.
What do you think of our predictions?
SNL returns for season 41 on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 11:30 p.m.
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