Los Angeles Times (TNS)

Alec Baldwin — whose career and credibility owe much to NBC, producer Lorne Michaels and “Saturday Night Live,” a show he has hosted 17 times — wandered over to CBS’ “Late Show” on Tuesday night to promote his new memoir, “Nevertheless.”

Since the end of “30 Rock,” his most regular gig, he has been playing the president on “SNL,” following in the footsteps of Phil Hartman, Darrell Hammond, Taran Killam and Jason Sudeikis.

But none has owned the role as he has, and after Donald Trump himself, Baldwin is the “President Trump” one is most likely to picture, and the impersonation one is most likely to confuse and conflate with the real thing.

“When I saw your Donald Trump for the first time,” Colbert told him, “I think, like a lot of people, I thought, ‘Oh, thank God, somebody has cracked that nut.’ “

Because Baldwin lives in New York, a city where celebrities go out on the street among the people, he often has received silently mouthed thanks for playing the part, he said, miming silently mouthed thanks.

In case his Trump is something you would like to try at home, here is the Baldwin method he revealed.

His Trump, Baldwin said, demonstrating, is “totally a caricature, you just pick a few things … left eyebrow up, right eyebrow down, shove your face (out) like you’re trying to suck the chrome off the fender of a car.”

Colbert silently mouthed his thanks.

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