25 of the Best Political Impersonations on Saturday Night Live

6. Jay Pharoah as Barack Obama

When Barack Obama became president, Saturday Night Live realized that they may have a problem. Mainly because they did not really have an African American actor to play him. Thank god they eventually added Jay Pharoah to the cast list and let him take on the president.

In 2010, we got Jay added to the cast and Fred Armisen could finally stop pretending to be the first black President of the United States. And Jay did an incredible job. He was known for his impressions (Denzel, Kevin Hart and more were featured week after week during his stint on the show). And Obama was just one of the greatest ones he did.

The thing about Obama is that it isn’t just about his voice or his mannerisms. There is something so special about him that needs to come across for an impersonation to really work. And with Jay, it did. He actually made us love him as the president and we wanted him to succeed. He gave us that drive that the president has and it made his performance shine.

Even the sketch where Obama turns into The Rock Obama was hilarious because of the dedication that Jay put into the role. He wanted to do the president proud and we, as the audience, could feel that. Making it the best of all the Barack Obama impressions.