Lorne Michaels recently said that Saturday Night Live will have to portray Donald Trump slightly differently than they have in past election cycles.
During the 2016 and 2020 election seasons, Alec Baldwin played Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live, but James Austin Johnson now plays the character. Johnson will continue to play the character on the show, but things will be changing in the upcoming season.
The SNL creator told the Hollywood Reporter, "I think we have the people to play [the candidates], and it should be fun. And Trump has morphed."
Michaels continued:
"One of the great parts of show business is that you can’t come back with the same show. So, all of these characters have to be reexamined, and if it makes sense and feels relevant, you know you’re on the right track."
The show has a long tradition of lampooning presidential candidates going back to its start in the 1970s. And the practice is meaningful to the writers. Former head writer and current Weekend Update cohost Michael Che explained:
"I can’t agree with everything political that we’ve had on the show. And I’m sure there’s stuff I’ve written that’s made some cast members bristle or some writers go, ‘What are we putting on? We can’t say that.’ But we have to live with each other; we’re renting this space and trying to get this real estate for our ideas. So, there’s no one mission statement I don’t believe, beyond funny is funny,"