Fred Armisen discusses how it feels to pass the "SNL" POTUS baton

Fred Armisen is currently one of the longest running cast members on “SNL”, second only to Seth Meyers, having been on the show since its 28^th season starting in October of 2002. As one of the casts most seasoned members, he has a myriad of political impressions under his belt. Armisen has done impressions of political figures such as Hugo Chavez, George W. Bush, and Saddam Hussein, but his most famous impression is probably that of the United States current President, Barack Obama.

Armisen has portrayed the President of the United States on “SNL” since Season 33, beginning on Feburary 23^rd of 2008, and has passed the torch to Jay Pharoah recently. Jay Pharoah is a relative newcomer to “SNL”, but as of season 38 (and during the campaign) he took over the role of portraying Obama.

Armisen is currently promoting his IFC series “Portlandia”, and he shared a few words on how he feels about the transfer of Obama to another cast member.  “It feels incredible, it makes me feel like I am part of something bigger,” Armisen said. “It’s like SNL is its own living thing and we are just a part of that. Now we’ve both helped to paint this picture of the president. We’ve made some kind of art together.” While Armisen has admitted that he will “never” portray Obama again on the show, he has nothing but good feelings for how Jay Pharoah owns the role. He says that watching the younger actor in the role of POTUS “makes me feel very proud.”

Whose portrayal of Obama do you like better?