Posted in: NBC, Peacock, TV | Tagged: saturday night live, snl

SNL: Gasteyer on President Carter "Laughing" at Dan Aykroyd Impression

SNL alum Ana Gasteyer shared a childhood memory of when President Jimmy Carter was "laughing hysterically" at Dan Aykroyd's impression of him.

Before a certain president-elect came back to office, there was a time when sitting presidents could laugh at themselves as they get skewered for laughs on national television, which has been a tradition since its premiere in 1975. Since Chevy Chase's impression of 38th President Gerald Ford, it's been a tradition of every single POTUS to the current 46th President Joe Biden, currently played by SNL alum Dana Carvey. In light of Jimmy Carter's passing in December 2024, alumnae Ana Gasteyer recalled her experience long before her run as an SNL cast member as a childhood friend of one of his four kids, Amy Carter. Appearing on the Las Culturistas podcast hosted by current SNL cast member, Bowen Yang, and Matt Rogers, they asked the American Auto star, "What was the culture that made you say culture was for you?"

Ana Gasteyer on Jimmy Carter Influencing Her SNL Career

"It's gonna sound really humble-braggy, but it is about SNL, and it's about the importance of laughter. I can't believe I just said that," Gasteyer started (via Entertainment Weekly). "And so I weirdly had this, like, whole childhood life in middle school where I would go and, like, sleep over at the White House and go to Camp David. I went to Camp David during the Camp David Accords. I played the violin for [Egyptian President] Anwar Sadat and [Israeli Prime Minister] Menachem Begin…. I watched Star Wars with the Sadats. Insane."

That's when fate intervened. "Sort of in the middle of the White House living area, President Jimmy Carter was sitting in a chair with a burgundy V-neck and a beer, and he was watching Dan Aykroyd play himself on Saturday Night Live, and he was laughing hysterically," Gasteyer said, noting that Carter "understood that it was funny" and that she realized "there was a power to that."

"The ability to laugh at things and the ability to pull yourself out of situations and to find what's funny about it," Gasteyer explained. "I can't even believe I'm saying this, but the gift that humor does actually give us as a piece of storytelling and political commentary…. I feel like we're gonna have a lot of places in this new era where news has proven itself to be untrustworthy and social media… maybe we idiotic performers will be able to tell the truth a little bit." You can catch Gasteyer on her latest series Loot on AppleTV+. You can also check out the podcast for more.

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