Picking out who did the worst impression/character of a president on Saturday Night Live presents more challenges than who did the best. I've listed the cast members who have portrayed a U.S. president below. To keep the list snappy, I've avoided guest appearances by non-cast members (Robin Williams as Reagan), presidents before they assumed office (Jim Downey's 1980 impression of George H. W. Bush) or after (Darrell Hammond's post-term Jimmy Carter appearances.) Unfortunately, this means I couldn't include Kenan Thompson's Teddy Roosevelt.
Which brings us to another good point: What makes a bad impression? Thompson obviously didn't resemble the president he was portraying (that was kind of the joke) and Chevy Chase didn't even bother to wear make-up or alter his voice to become Gerald Ford. However, I would say Chase is up there with the best of the SNL presidents.
So who was the worst? You think Randy Quaid was bad as Reagan? Well, did you ever see his Kennedy?
I compiled this list mostly from this page, with some more research (like whether JFK was portrayed as a senator, a president or dead) looked up here.
Poll Results
Option | Votes |
Obama...........Fred Armisen | 9 |
Bush 43...........Chris Parnell | 2 |
Reagan...........Charles Rocket | 2 |
Bush 43...........Darrell Hammond | 2 |
Bush 43...........Will Ferrell | 2 |
Nixon...........Dan Aykroyd | 1 |
Ford...........Chevy Chase | 1 |
Clinton...........Darrell Hammond | 1 |
Carter..........Dan Aykroyd | 1 |
Reagan...........Joe Piscopo | 1 |
JFK..........Randy Quaid | 0 |
JFK..........Joe Piscopo | 0 |
FDR..........Bill Hader | 0 |
FDR..........Tim Kazurinsky | 0 |
FDR..........Harry Shearer | 0 |
FDR..........John Belushi | 0 |
Obama...........Jay Pharoah | 0 |
Carter...........Joe Piscopo | 0 |
Bush 43...........Jason Sudeikis | 0 |
Bush 43...........Will Forte | 0 |
Clinton...........Michael McKean | 0 |
Clinton...........Phil Hartman | 0 |
Bush 41...........Dana Carvey | 0 |
Reagan...........Phil Hartman | 0 |
Reagan...........Randy Quaid | 0 |
Reagan...........Harry Shearer | 0 |
JFK..........Dan Aykroyd | 0 |
― pplains, Sunday, 16 September 2012 22:51 (eleven years ago) link