last night on late night

Laura Benanti Impersonates Melania Trump on The Late Show and It’s Perfect

With the country obsessing over Melania Trump’s Republican National Convention speech (did she plagiarize Michelle Obama’s speech or did she, as an RNC official insists, channel My Little Pony’s Twilight Sparkle?), Stephen Colbert took the opportunity to call on his own trump card: Broadway star Laura Benanti. Back in May, Benanti appeared on The Late Show and revealed that she is, in fact, a dead ringer for Mrs. Trump (watch below). At the time, she had never heard Melania speak, so the resemblance was purely physical, but armed with good material Benanti studied the Melania accent and returned to the late-night program just 24 hours after the infamous speech. Benanti on Tuesday’s show delivered a triumphant impersonation of the potential first lady, a performance that was right up there with Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin. Colbert got her first, but don’t be surprised if other late-night shows start calling her up. (Read our interview with Benanti here.)

Laura Benanti’s Impersonation of Melania Is Gold