Bill Murray played Steve Bannon on “Saturday Night Live,” and Twitter loved it
Over the last year, Saturday Night Live has been having a lot of fun swapping in major celebrities for political figures. We’ve had Larry David as Bernie Sanders. Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump. Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer. And now, we have a new addition to the list: Bill Murray as Steve Bannon. Yep, one of America’s most beloved actors took on the role of one of the most hated men in American politics right now. Bill Murray made the surprise appearance during the cold open of Saturday, January 13th’s episode, which Sam Rockwell hosted.
The sketch was a parody of the MSNBC show Morning Joe. Kate McKinnon and Alex Moffat played Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, respectively. For the past few months, whenever someone has played Steve Bannon in a sketch, they’ve appeared in a cloaked grim reaper costume. But last night, the reaper removed his hood and revealed himself to be none other than a very disheveled Bill Murray.
Murray-as-Bannon boasted about his inevitable comeback in American politics. He quipped, “It’s time for America to slide down the Bannon-ster.” He also suggested some new candidates he would try to get elected as future presidents. They included such upstarts as Logan Paul, Martin Shkreli, and former Subway spokesman Jared Fogle.
(Yep, that’s SNL alum Fred Armisen playing Fire and Fury author Michael Wolff!)
Watch Bill Murray expertly portray Steve Bannon.
He appears around the 4:10 mark.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiyZ92_JZxA?feature=oembed
Of course, Twitter freaked out.
Bill Murray just played Steve Bannon to Fred Armison’s Michael Wolff on #SNL and I am dead pic.twitter.com/VzR4mSehxA
— ya girl (@goldengateblond) January 14, 2018
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/952398605310144512
BILL MURRAY ON SNL….THIS IS NOT A DRILL…HE'S STEVE BANNON!! #SNL pic.twitter.com/5Qd2EBY7Ej
— Rotten Noggin 🧠🗑 (@ABleedingCorpse) January 14, 2018
Fred Armisen as Michael Wolff is just perfect AND OH HEY SURPRISE BILL MURRAY AS STEVE BANNON #SNL
— Tahlia Hein Is Only At SDCC Technically (@notnadia) January 14, 2018
Bill Murray as Steve Bannon just made my night.
Welcome back to Saturday Night Live Bill!#saturdaynight #BillMurray #SteveBannon pic.twitter.com/rRvLSvbosy
— Ted Corcoran (RedTRaccoon) (@RedTRaccoon) January 14, 2018
Though SNL chose Bill Murray to play Steve Bannon, there was another potential contender at one point: Rosie O’Donnell. Back in February of 2017, O’Donnell posted a photo of herself as Bannon. She also volunteered herself for the gig.
– i am here to serve – alec has trump – melissa has spice – i would need a few days to prepare – so if called – i will be ready
— ROSIE (@Rosie) February 7, 2017
Though we’re sure that would have been hysterical, we’re glad Murray got the chance to return to the place that jumpstarted his career. His version of Bannon could go down in history right alongside Melissa McCarthy’s Sean Spicer.
