Alec Baldwin has offered to stop doing his impersonation of Donald Trump on "Saturday Night Live" if the president-elect releases his tax returns.
Baldwin's offer came via Twitter shortly after midnight on Sunday after Trump sent a tweet critical of "SNL" in general and Baldwin's portrayal of him in particular.
The question of Trump's tax returns has been an issue since the start of his presidential campaign in June 2015. Trump has bucked political tradition by refusing to allow the public a deep look at his financial history. That prompted investigative reports into the track record of Trump's businesses and his personal foundation.
In October, the New York Times reported that Trump recorded a $916 million business loss in 1995 that likely allowed him to avoid paying income taxes for as much as 18 years. In September, the Washington Post reported on the Donald J. Trump Foundation's history of accepting donations from outside sources but making few charitable grants of its own.
The latest episode of "SNL" opened with a Baldwin playing Trump goofing off and focusing on retweeting messages from random people while attending a security briefing. "SNL" trouper Kate McKinnon, who spent most of the year as Trump's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, played Trump campaign manager KellyAnne Conway.
The sketch ended with Trump calling for his chief strategist, the controversial former Breitbart News chief Steve Bannon, who was portrayed as a cross between the Grim Reaper and Darth Vader.
© 2025 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.