ABC News(WASHINGTON) — Saturday Night Live added a new skit this weekend, tapping actress Melissa McCarthy to play White House press secretary Sean Spicer. Though Spicer thinks the actress may have taken the impression too far, he said in interviews on Sunday and Monday, he also told outlets he thought her act was “cute.”
In the lengthy segment, McCarthy got agitated with reporters and used props to explain President Trump’s agenda.
“I’m here to swallow gum and I’m here to take names. OK, now let me wave something shiny in front of you monkeys,” were some of the things McCarthy barked at other actors playing reporters from the likes of the New York Times.
At one point, McCarthy’s character got so agitated with the press, he picked up the podium itself and shoved it into a reporter.
While in Houston for the Super Bowl on Sunday, Spicer spoke to entertainment show Extra about the skit, saying he only heard of McCarthy’s impression while leaving church and that he was getting so many texts, he was worried that there was an emergency.
Spicer had some jokes of his own when speaking about the skit, saying he thought it was a funny show, but that McCarthy needed to “dial [it] back” a little. He added that the actress “needs to slow down on the gum chewing; way too many pieces in there,” alluding to her early joke about “I’m not here to be your buddy, I’m here to swallow gum and take names.”
As for Alec Baldwin reprising his role as President Donald Trump, Spicer sees the impression as having gone from “funny to mean.”
Trump has also tweeted that he’s not a fan of Baldwin’s impression of him, calling the satire “one-sided” and “biased.”
“Nothing funny at all,” he tweeted last year.
Spicer also spoke to Fox & Friends Monday morning about McCarthy, adding similar sentiments from his Extra interview.
“It was cute. It was funny,” he said. “I would rather us be talking about the issues that the President is so committed to helping Americans on but, you know, it’s part of American culture.”
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