Watch Will Ferrell Revive His George W. Bush For Sam Bee’s Fake Correspondents’ Dinner
"How do you like me now?"
Years before Alec Baldwin caked himself in orange face paint, Saturday Night Live was best remember for another proxy president: Will Ferrell as George W. Bush. The comedian famously roasted Bush Jr. during the early years of his presidency ̶ and yesterday he reprised the role during Samantha Bee’s alternative White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where he had just one question for the people watching at home:
“How do you like me now?”
Strolling onto the stage with a cigarette in hand, Ferrell’s Bush could hardly contain his glee. “Quick presidential update: I’m doing quite well thank you,” he said. “History’s proven to be kinder to me than many of you thought.”
Mocking the misplaced nostalgia many people now feel for the Bush years, Ferrell reminded the crowd about Dubya’s own fractious relationship with the media. “You guys would always sneak up on me with gotcha questions, like ‘why are we going to war, gotcha!’ and ‘why did you not respond to Hurricane Katrina, gotcha!'” he remarked. “I just wish someone had told me that all you have to say is ‘fake news’ over and over again.”
He also had some advice for President Trump, joking that “the tie stops at the belt. A big long tie that goes past your mid-thigh does not mean what you think it means.”
An alternative to the official Correspondents’ Dinner, Bee’s event also featured appearances by Billy Eichner, Kumail Nanjiani and Allison Janney, among others. The whole thing will air in Australia on SBS Viceland on Thursday May 4 at 8pm.