The actor gives insight into his process of channeling the presidential candidate

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Despite what his headline-making impression of Donald Trump might insinuate, Alec Baldwin says that he doesn’t hate the Republican presidential candidate.

On Election Day, appearing on WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show, the 30 Rock star opened up about his recent run on Saturday Night Live. While discussing how most impressions come from a place of appreciation, Baldwin acknowledged that this was a little different. “I don’t hate Trump, but he’s not somebody I admire, so it was more difficult,” he shared.

The actor went on to give an insight into his process, which included watching a lot of Trump and lengthy practice sessions while sitting in the makeup chair. He also disclosed that constantly having to adjust his voice to the controversial candidate’s exaggerated enunciation almost caused him to sprain his jaw.

Baldwin has earned plenty of critical praise for his take on the former The Apprentice host, but it was a role that he wasn’t sure he could take on when Lorne Michaels first approached him.

“When he asked me, I said no,” Baldwin explained. “I said, well I don’t want to do that, I don’t think I can do that. I mean, he had Taran Killam and Darrell Hammond, he had a couple of people who were in his compound there, who could do it I thought better than me. And I thought, I don’t want to do it, I don’t think I can. But you get lucky and I also think that people were ready to take in that version of him, which is so aggressive.”

He then added, “Of course, he is the head writer of his own comedy routine, everything he just supplied to us.”

Famously, Donald Trump hasn’t had many nice things to say about his opponent, Hillary Clinton, including calling her a “nasty woman.” Thankfully, the relationship between Baldwin and Clinton portrayer Kate McKinnon is the complete opposite, with the veteran actor laying plenty of praise on the Emmy-winning actress.

“One of my greatest joys is that I got to do it with Kate,” he said. “She is just this staggering, talented woman. And she’s smart, because she mixes the sweet and the sour in there. There’s Hillary, the very driven and very, very ambitious woman and there’s Hillary, who really made her into this sweet, kind of cartoon character and lovable in a way and that’s her gift.”

Listen to the interview below.