The buzz started to build shortly after Melissa McCarthy delivered her bombastic performance as White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Saturday Night Live. Then it intensified once reports became public that former reality star Donald Trump was not pleased with the fact that one of his main spokespeople had been portrayed by a woman.
What if, people wondered, Trump’s right-hand man Steve Bannon was also played by a woman on the late-night show? Very quickly, a frontrunner emerged for the role—none other than Trump’s longtime nemesis, comedian Rosie O’Donnell.
The whole world is holding it's collective breath to see if Rosie portrays Bannon more as psychotic or satanic on SNL pic.twitter.com/LbK93bfg3V
— Howie Klein (@downwithtyranny) February 9, 2017
Fans began tweeting to her on Twitter, and then Rosie indicated she was receptive to the idea. Although she has been silent on the status of a possible portrayal over the past few days, a very telling sign emerged. Replacing her usual Twitter image with one of her face photoshopped into a picture of Steve Bannon, Rosie ignited the flames of fans who want to see her take on the role of one of the most shadowy figures in Trump’s administration.
With Alec Baldwin hosting this weekend’s show, there’s no doubt that many people are crossing their fingers for the return of McCarthy’s Spicer—and the dazzling debut of Rosie in the role of Bannon.