North Jersey's Laura Benanti resurrects Melania Trump impression on 'Colbert'
North Jersey's Laura Benanti is as versatile an actress as they come on stage and screen, but it's perhaps her recurring comedic impression as former First Lady Melania Trump that has left a lasting impression over the years.
Benanti, who grew up in Kinnelon and now lives in Montclair, once again brought out the sultry eyes, pouty lips and carved cheekbones Tuesday night and dropped some memorable one-liners during a segment on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."
The late night show has been airing live from Chicago during the Democratic National Convention, where the impersonator-in-chief just so happened to show up. Well, sort of.
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Benanti's resurrection as the former first lady has been a hit, with the segment entitled "Melania Trump Crashes the DNC" racking up nearly 2.1 million views on the "Late Show's" YouTube page by Thursday afternoon.
Host Colbert, after noting Melania Trump's "complete absence" from the Republican National Convention and campaign trail as her husband seeks a second term, suggested in the segment that people may be wondering, "Where is Melania?"
Colbert, also a Montclair resident, then cuts to a split-screen where Benanti, donned in a red dress with hands on her hips, strikes several pouty poses to the camera. Turning up in the unlikeliest of places, Benanti's Melania appears from the Democratic National Convention, leading Colbert to question her intentions. (Benanti was actually standing side-stage during the segment).
Plot to attract voters by making them ... happy?
Benanti, a Tony-winning actress whose recent film and TV roles included "No Hard Feelings" and "The Gilded Age," played up a determined Melania by admitting she was there to "uncover the secrets of Kamala-nomenon" and vowed to find out Kamala's "plot to attract voters by making them — what is the word — happy?"
She called Chicago, or rather, "Chicago-lago," the "greatest city in the world" — "because this week there is no chance my husband will be here" — and was asked her thoughts about her husband's running mate, JD Vance.
"I have always been in favor of him getting a new mate," Benanti's Melania said. "Up top."
She and Colbert then high-fived in the middle of their split-screen.
Benanti's Melania went on to say she got some "hot goss" while scoping out the convention and asked Colbert, "Did you know that the Democrats are casting a magical spell to turn the first lady into a man?"
When the "Late Night" host explained that if Kamala Harris was elected president her husband, Doug Emhoff, would be a first gentleman instead of a first lady, Benanti's Melania huffs and puffs.
"Why does she get to a have a husband that is a first gentleman?" Benanti's Melania said, as she pouted and threw her arms down, at one point stomping her feet in frustration.
Benanti's Melania then states that she plans to stay in Chicago because she loves it so much. When told by Colbert she eventually has to return to her husband, Benanti's Melania appears in a Chicago Bears hat, sunglasses and a mustache, noting she is "Mel Ditka," a nod to the Bears' former coach Mike Ditka.
“I cheer for da hot dogs and I eat da Sox,” Benanti said as she laughed and struggled to keep her composure, as well as the moustache on, before the scene cut.
Benanti told the IndyStar in 2018 that while promoting a Broadway play she was in, Colbert mentioned her physical resemblance to Melania Trump. She didn't think much of it until months later, when news swirled that Melania had been accused of plagiarizing her Republican National Convention speech in 2016, she told the newspaper. Colbert reached out to her to do the impression, and in five hours, she played the role, she said.
She noted in the interview that she has tried proving herself as a comedian for many years and her intention is not to mock Melania, who she called a beautiful, smart woman and good mom. Her goal, she said, was to poke fun at Donald Trump.
Email: [email protected]; Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH or on Facebook.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Laura Benanti of NJ does Melania Trump impression on 'Colbert'