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Laura Benanti is an award winning actress, known for her stunning singing and incredible stage presence. Still, many could argue that her best work is her Melania Trump impression. This past Tuesday, Benanti was featured on "The Today Show with Stephen Colbert" as she played a version of Melania that crashed the Democratic National Convention to investigate the "Kamala-nomenon" and learn what it means to laugh.
The segment was inspired on Melania's notable absence from political events. While she attended the Republican National Convention and took the stage alongside her husband Donald Trump, she didn't make a speech.
"Here to tell us 'Where is Melania?' is former First Lady Melania Trump," Colbert says, welcoming Benanti, who wears a tight red dress.
"Hello Stephen. And hello Chicago, the greatest city in the world!" says Benanti in a thick accent, prompting laughs from the audience and from Colbert himself, who has to hold back from breaking character.
Colbert asks her what she's doing at the DNC, and she replies that she's trying to "uncover the secrets behind the Kamala-nomenon. Like her plot to attract voters by making them... what is this word... happy?"
"And what is this thing she does when she opens her face and she goes 'ha ha ha ha,'" she says, producing a robotic laugh.
"It's called laughter, ma'am," says Colbert.
You can check out the full video below.
We can expect more political satire in the coming months
As we gear up for this year's elections, you can expect more of this type of content. Maya Rudolph has already confirmed that she'll be playing Kamala Harris on SNL during the fall. Her TV show "Loot" was initially scheduled to shoot through the fall in Los Angeles, and has now been pushed back to January.
Rudolph played Harris to great acclaim during the 2020 election run, with Jim Carrey playing Joe Biden. The comedy program employed the two so much that Carrey temporarily relocated to New York.