Will Ferrell Reprises George W. Bush Impression at Samantha Bee's Not the White House Correspondents' Dinner Event

The funny man got in some punches at the political system during the TBS special's taping in Washington D.C.

By Meg Swertlow Apr 29, 2017 11:58 PMTags
Will Ferrell, Not The White House Correspondents DinnerDimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for TBS

Samantha Bee knows how to surprise an audience!

Will Ferrell shocked the crowd earlier today when he revived his famous Saturday Night Live impression of former president George W. Bush during the taping of Bee's Not the White House Correspondents' Dinner special. The event was planned by the Full Frontal with Samantha Bee host to rival the traditional White House Corespondents' Dinner, which is also tonight.

At the taping, which was held at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington D.C., the funny man received a standing ovation from onlookers, who weren't expecting the comedy superstar.

Sporting grey hair and cigarette in hand, Ferrell (as Bush) said, "For the longest time I was considered the worst president of all time—that has changed. I needed eight years, a catastrophic flood, a war built on a lie and an economic disaster. The new guy only needed a hundred days."

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for TBS

Ferrell kept going: "I never liked the press, but I took my lumps like every other president. The new guy has thin skin. He’s what you’d call a snowflake. … He can’t handle the heat. He’s a weak man."

Without referring to the President Donald Trump by name, the SNL veteran continued, "He can’t even sit in the White House, he runs down to the Mar-a-Lago," which "sounds like a name from a Tom Clancy novel: The Hunt for Mar-a-Lago."

Then the 49-year-old actor proceeded to narrate a scene from a hypothetical book in which Trump discusses launching missiles as he eats a slice of chocolate cake from the comforts of his Floridian resort.

Of course, Ferrell also took aim at journalists during his fake speech as the 43rd president.

"Journalism school is where you go so you can be a journalist. Or you could also post angry, racist Tweets until Breitbart hires you. I gotta be honest, I’m not sure why anyone would wanna become a journalist now. It’s like being on the Titanic—in this room, Washington Post, New York Times, Boston Herald—the iceberg is coming for you," he continued.

But that wasn't all. Ferrell went on: "You guys are hanging on to your journalistic integrity. Playing with violins until some the ship goes down. You should see what they would do over at FOX and Friends. Those guys are dressing up like women and children and stealing the lifeboats."

Bee's special airs tonight at 7 p.m. PST on TBS. Additionally, the official White House Correspondents' Dinner is at 6:30 p.m. PST on C-SPAN.