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NEW YORK − A new documentary is celebrating one of the great joys of America: Being able to make fun of the president.Directed by Josh Greenbaum, "Playing POTUS," a movie tracing the history of U.S. presidents being lampooned on "Saturday Night Live" and other shows, premiered June 6 at the Tribeca Festival in New York City. Dana Carvey, Will Ferrell, Alec Baldwin and others looked back on their presidential impersonations in the film, which suggests the comics may have played a major role in shaping how Americans perceived their leaders.After the screening, Greenbaum took part in a panel discussion with legendary former "SNL" writers Jim Downey and Robert Smigel, as well as James Austin Johnson, who is now playing President Donald Trump on the sketch show.Johnson drew laughs at the premiere by busting out his Trump voice to ramble and jump from topic to topic, as he does in the "SNL" cold opens. The comedian also shared some insight into how he approaches the role."I'm trying to think of a guy who's been working in retail for like five decades, in a corner, in an uncomfortable chair somewhere, and he's just doing that to whatever new worker is walking past," Johnson said, adding, "I want to play it like it's a man talking alone in a room, and he'd just be saying all that stuff."The documentary illustrates how some comedians had personal fondness for the political figures they portrayed, with Kate McKinnon describing feeling "very protective" of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton while playing her on "SNL." So the panel moderator asked Johnson if he must have some degree of empathy for Trump to jab the president."If you can't tell how I feel about Donald Trump from the way that I do him, you're a moron," Johnson quipped. Despite this, he said people often come to see him perform live who are mistakenly under the impression "that I love Donald Trump," and they wind up walking out."I think I play his charm a little bit more, maybe than Alec [Baldwin] did," Johnson said. "I think I play the secret weapon that he's deployed, which is that he's, you know, funny − intentionally and unintentionally, kind of a hilarious guy. That's not really something I'm looking for when it's time to vote for somebody, but it's been extremely powerful."During an audience Q&A portion, an attendee asked the panelists if they now feel they have to walk on eggshells while making fun of the president due to concerns of repercussions, and they directly asked Johnson if he is fearful of Trump."Am I fearful of the crazy person who wields the military ... and seems to target individuals?" Johnson asked. "Yeah, I hope my name never comes out of his mouth."USA TODAY has reached out to the White House for comment.The post-screening discussion also touched on topics ranging from the influence of political comedy to the evolution of "SNL" itself.Downey, who wrote for the show for decades going back to 1976, said he sometimes feels "we did a little too much political stuff" on "SNL" and pointed out there was a time when the cold open wasn't always about politics or the news of the week, as it virtually always is today."Our cold openings ... were only political about a third of the time, at most," he said. This shifted "after we started to get a lot of attention" for political sketches in the mid-1980s, and creator Lorne Michaels began to feel it "was almost like we were a daily newspaper, and we had an obligation to the public to put something political up front," Downey explained.Maya Rudolph, Keegan-Michael Key, Chevy Chase and more stars also appear in "Playing POTUS," which examines how certain presidential impressions may have changed American politics. For instance, the film questions whether Chase's portrayal of Gerald Ford as a clumsy fool on "SNL" contributed to Ford's loss in the 1976 election. When Chase is asked if he feels guilty about this, he laughs and says, "No! Not at all."Another major focus is the idea that being allowed to satirize the president is a privilege that shouldn't be taken for granted and is part of what makes America great. "As long as we're still allowed to do that, this democracy is going to survive," Ferrell, who played George W. Bush on "SNL," says in an interview during the movie.
