Larry David Nails Bernie Sanders Impression on ‘SNL’
(JTA) — “What’s the deal with emails, anyway?”
Sounds like a line on a “Seinfeld” episode (or Modern Seinfeld, anyway). But last night we heard it on the “Saturday Night Live” spoof of the first Democratic debate. The speaker was Bernie Sanders’ doppelganger, “Seinfeld” creator Larry David.
David is a Jewish curmudgeon who also plays a Jewish curmudgeon on his HBO show, “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” So when Sanders, another Jewish curmudgeon, decided to run for president, it was clearly the role David was born to play.
Slap half a white toupee on his bald spot and David becomes a dead ringer for Sanders, bouncy hand motions and all. He won laughs on “SNL” by playing Sanders straight, but couldn’t resist throwing in a couple of Seinfeldisms, spewing outrage at the most insignificant of daily annoyances.
“Eh, not a fan of the banks,” David (I mean, Sanders) griped. “They trample on the middle class, they control Washington … and why do they chain all their pens to the desk? Who’s trying to steal a pen from a bank? Makes no sense!”
And here’s David/Sanders on email:
“I forgot my password the other day, so they say, ‘We’ll email you a new one.’ But I can’t get into my email to get the password! I mean, talk about a ball-buster!”
But David seemed most like himself — at least his “Curb” character — at the beginning, when he channeled his “life-is-great-but-I-still-complain” attitude. Asked how he’s doing, the Sanders impersonator said, “I’m good. I’m hungry, but I’m good.”
So although pundits are saying the real-life Sanders may not have won the debate, we’d have to say that overall, David’s “SNL” performance was “pretttay, pretttay good.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
