What everyone in this country needs right about now: Will Ferrell back on SNL. Ferrell took to the iconic stage over the weekend to bring back his crowd-favorite George W. Bush impression.
With all the shit going on in America right now, Bush felt the need to remind everyone that it could still be worse. In his best/worst fake Texas accent, Ferrell as Bush opened SNL with a hilarious monologue. His speech details all the reasons he was a worse president than Trump. As he explains, “So…I just wanted to address my fellow Americans tonight and remind you guys that I was really bad…like, historically not good.” What a legend.
A recent poll gave the former Texas governor an approval rating of “an all-time high”. Downplaying that stat, Bush (Ferrell) reminds the audience, “Don’t forget, we’re still in two different wars that I started.” Ferrell somehow manages to get through the entire 6 minutes without even cracking a smile.
The poll was legitimate though; conducted by SSRS, the poll, which appeared on CNN, reported that 2/3 of Americans consider Bush a presidential mascot. According to the numbers, 61% of people favorably viewed him, while only 33% did not.
Perhaps what makes the skit even funnier is that Bush appears to be sitting in the Oval Office while addressing the audience. He later reveals that it’s actually a makeshift film set he built in his basement.
Ferrell-Bush goes on to claim that he started ISIS, the media hated him more than they do Trump, and that he would take “no gay cakes” Mike Pence over former VP Dick Cheney any day.
“That’s right, Donnie Q Trump came in, and suddenly I’m looking pretty sweet by comparison. I’m popular AF.”
Will Ferrell nailed Bush’s character on the head, even going so far as to include the mispronunciations for which he was so famous. “I feel for Donnie, I really do. I’m not a Trump synthesizer or anything, but we have a lot in common.”
He continued, “We’re the exact same age even though I was president like 40 years ago. We both won the election despite losing the popular vote, though back in my day we didn’t let Russians rig our elections. We used the Supreme Court like Americans.”
The skit ended on a perfect note. Leslie Jones joined Ferrell on stage as former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and the two spoofed Those Were the Days. They reminisced about the “olden days” including that time Dick Cheney shot someone.
As the actors sum it up perfectly, “The housing market went to hell. Nazis kept to themselves. Bin Laden was alive and well, those were the days.” A gentle reminder to us all that this could be much, much worse…or could it?
Want more from comedic genius Will Ferrell? Check out his hilarious insult game here.