Alec Baldwin Explains How Lorne Michaels Convinced Him to Return to ‘SNL’ as Trump: “Your Audience Demands It”

Every time Alec Baldwin tries to retire his Saturday Night Live Trump impression, Lorne Michaels reels him back in. On Sunday night, Baldwin stopped by The Tonight Show, where he told Jimmy Fallon about Michaels’ latest attempt (and a successful one, at that) to bring him back into the fold. The actor and comedian said that he had no intention of returning to Trump until “the day before” the SNL Season 45 premiere, when Michaels called and insisted that the “audience demands” that he impersonate the president. Resistance was futile. “So I came, and I did it,” said Baldwin, clearly not pleased. “And I’m going to do it a few times.”

The majority of SNL viewers may be over Baldwin’s Trump impression, but Fallon is not among them. “I was happy to see you on the season premiere of Saturday Night Live,” said Fallon during their interview, adding that Baldwin’s Trump is “amazing.” His guest brushed it off, saying that Fallon is “one of the few people who appreciates” his situation.

“I said to them, and it was not with any malice or any lack of affection for them, I said, ‘Oh, I don’t want to do that anymore, I don’t want to do the Trump thing again. I’m going to stop,'” recalled Baldwin, echoing his sentiment from early June. “And I don’t need to tell you about the Lorne Michaels Jedi Mind Trick thing. You know as well as me, or better.” The actor went on to say that “the Friday before” the Season 45 premiere — “the day before the show,” he emphasized,” Michaels called and insisted that he bring back his Trump impression. “He’s like, ‘I don’t think you understand.’ And I go, ‘What don’t I understand? I’ve been thinking about it all summer. Every day I’ve been thinking about it,'” recalled Baldwin. “And he said, ‘I don’t think you understand how important this is.'”

“Unconsciously, Lorne starts with one very powerful premise, which is, ‘I hired you, didn’t I? So my judgement is flawless,'” continued Baldwin. “So he said to me, ‘You should come and do it. Your audience demands it,’ or something like that.” The frequent SNL guest clarified that Michaels didn’t actually say that, as “he would never say something as bold as that, as silly as that,” but the message was clear.

Ultimately, he had no choice but to return. “So I came, and I did it,” said Baldwin, throwing his hands up in the air. “And I’m going to do it a few times.” Sigh. We were *this* close to being done with Baldwin’s Trump impression forever.

Watch Baldwin discuss his SNL Trump impression (and drop his pants to show off his weight loss, I guess) in the clip above.

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