--- description: Alec Baldwin says that the first time he played Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live, he had no idea what he was going to do. title: Alec Baldwin Just Winged His First Donald Trump Impersonation image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb9793286f734c67f/6988bcb497cdff614f6afae4/alec-baldwin-trump-snl-crdownload.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 'I Had No Idea What I was Going to Do.' Alec Baldwin Winged His First Donald Trump Impersonation  by [Alana Abramson](/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 2, 2017 2:20 PM CUT  Alec Baldwin plays Donald Trump during the Saturday Night Live cold open sketch in New York City, November 19, 2016 Alec Baldwin plays Donald Trump during the Saturday Night Live cold open sketch in New York City, November 19, 2016NBC—NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images  by [Alana Abramson](/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 2, 2017 2:20 PM CUT Although [Alec Baldwin’s ](http://time.com/4686940/alec-baldwin-and-kurt-andersen-are-writing-a-book-satirizing-trump/ "undefined")impersonation of President [Donald Trump](http://time.com/4688228/a-gop-revolt-threatens-president-trumps-agenda/ "undefined") on [_Saturday Night Live_ ](http://time.com/4669781/saturday-night-live-sean-spicer-melissa-mccarthy-supercut/ "undefined")was an immediate viral sensation, the first time the actor played the then-presidential candidate, he had nothing prepared. “I had no idea what I was going to do,” the actor told Jimmy Kimmel on Wednesday, recalling his first appearance as Trump on _Saturday Night Live_. “I mean literally the moment I walked out there, I just said to myself, ‘Eyebrow out.’” “I’m getting the wig on me and I’m sitting there the whole time going, ‘China, China,’ again and again,” he added. But Baldwin told Kimmel he’s now completely comfortable getting into Trump’s character. “You’ve got to try to think of who he is,” he said. “And I’ve said this countless times: To me, Trump was someone who, he’s always searching for a stronger, better word, and he never finds it.” Watch the clip above. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4688341/alec-baldwin-donald-trump-saturday-night-live/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4688341/alec-baldwin-donald-trump-saturday-night-live/"},"headline":"'I Had No Idea What I was Going to Do.' 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