Last week on Saturday Night Live, Melissa McCarthy gave a hilarious and masterful performance as President Trump’s often belligerent press secretary and communications director Sean Spicer. Spicer, whose special St. Patrick’s Day shamrock pants indicate he has at least a baseline sense of humor, didn’t seem to bothered by the caricature, but Trump was reportedly outraged.
Specifically, he was upset that Spicer was portrayed by a woman. As Politico reported: “More than being lampooned as a press secretary who makes up facts, it was Spicer’s portrayal by a woman that was most problematic in the president’s eyes, according to sources close to him. . . ‘Trump doesn't like his people to look weak,’ added a top Trump donor.”
Well! We thought McCarthy’s performance was terrific and we realized there’s an abundance of Irish and Irish American female comedians who could certainly do justice to the rest of the Trump administration.
Here are our top picks for women comedians to play the Trump administration on SNL, or maybe even in a full feature dystopian farce. Let us know in the comments if you have other ideas or suggestions for the cabinet members we didn’t cover!
Steve Bannon: Rosie O’Donnell
The second word broke that Trump was less than pleased about McCarthy playing Spicer, the internet came to a consensus about who should take on the role of Steve Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist and former chair of the alt-right site Breitbart News: Rosie O’Donnell. Indeed, we can easily see her transforming into Bannon’s disheveled mien, and Trump’s long-standing hatred of O’Donnell would no doubt make the caricature all the more cutting.
love u billy https://t.co/dF15VGg4kz
— ROSIE (@Rosie) February 10, 2017
O’Donnell has confirmed her interest in playing Bannon, even changing her Twitter profile picture to a photoshopped image of her as Bannon. Her reps said she wouldn’t be on SNL this weekend, but fingers crossed she makes an appearance soon.
Mike Pence: Jane Lynch
The former Glee star might have a couple inches on the Vice President height-wise, but that shouldn’t detract from her ability to capture his aged Ken doll essence. In addition to being a comedic genius Lynch is a proud lesbian, which contrasts nicely with Pence’s horrifying record on LGBT rights as Governor of Indiana.
Mike Flynn: Molly Shannon
It’s not a good time to be Mike Flynn! Trump’s National Security Advisor is currently under extreme scrutiny for potentially having discussed sanctions on Russia with the Russian Ambassador before Trump was sworn into office. Who better to capture that twitchy, nervous energy than SNL alum Molly Shannon?
James Mattis – Kathy Griffin
Given that his nickname is “Mad Dog,” Trump’s secretary of defense has to be played by someone who can capture his gruff, abrupt nature. Kathy Griffin pulls no punches.
Kellyanne Conway - Kate McKinnon
Tried, tested, audience approved.
Jeff Sessions - Amy Poehler
From Michael Jackson to Hillary Clinton, the Parks and Recreation star (who has roots in Cork and Sligo on her mother’s side, in case you were wondering) has never met an impersonation she couldn’t handle. The beady eyes and southern drawl of Trump’s highly controversial Attorney General will be a new challenge. Nevertheless, she will surely persist.
Maeve Higgins - Reince Priebus
Trump’s Chief of Staff and the former RNC chair, Priebus is one of the more seemingly normal members of his administration, so it’ll take a certain understated humor to pull this off. Irish comedian Maeve Higgins, who has an excellent podcast about immigration, “Maeve in America,” and who’s taken a few turns on Inside Amy Schumer, would do great.
Megan Mulally - Rick Perry
Trump’s pick for Secretary of Energy Rick Perry is now in charge of a department he once publicly said he’d abolish. How absurd! Nobody does absurdity as well as Will and Grace star Megan Mullally.
Catherine O'Hara - Rex Tillerson
From ExxonMobil CEO to secretary of state is quite a journey. The Canadian Irish actress and writer known for her turns in Home Alone and Christopher Guest movies would ooze into the oil tycoon’s shoes.
Jared Kushner: Millie Bobby Brown
We have no idea if Stranger Things’ Millie Bobbie Brown has Irish roots (she’s British, though Winona Ryder did get her a Claddagh ring as a parting gift when they wrapped filming on the Netflix series, so maybe!). But we’d love to see her and her flawless American accent take a crack at Trump’s youngest adviser and son-in-law, widely thought to be the voice of reason on his team but from whom not much has been heard since the inauguration.
Update: A few readers brought it to our attention that we left out The Donald himself. After careful consideration, we decided there was one actress in particular with the gravitas to take on the role.
Donald Trump: Meryl Streep
Despite the fact that Meryl Streep is one of the most lauded and celebrated actresses of our generation, Donald Trump has denounced her via his Twitter as "overrated" in reaction to her sharp criticism of him at the Golden Globes. Streep has proven herself to be an absolute chameleon, transforming herself profoundly for every role, from Margaret Thatcher to Julia Child. What's more, she's even impersonated Trump once before, in June 2016 at the Public Theater Gala in New York. Streep's great-grandmother on her mother's side, Grace Strain, was born in Creeslough, Donegal in 1865. Streep named one of her daughters Grace in her honor.
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