John Di Domenico is an actor, comedian and writer who has been impersonating Donald Trump since 2004 doing voice overs, appearing in movies, guesting (as Trump) on talk shows as varied Fox's Red Eye, The View, Chelsea, ABC New Nightline and Conan. His online presence has grown since the confinement. Trump Tests Extremely Negative for Corona garnered 544,553 page views on YouTube by far the biggest hit of his career.
It's not a sin to promote yourself. I try to. But there is something slightly off putting about this YouTube video description.
Like, Subscribe & Book John DIRECTLY, call Lee McDonald at Key Artist Group cell 407-694-3481 or 800-522-9759 ext 1 or email at lee@keyartistgroup.com John is exclusively represented by Key Artist Group and ONLY Key Artist Group. NO OTHER AGENT OR AGENCY represents John Di Domenico the #1 Donald Trump impersonator in the world based on TV and LIVE appearances.
None of the above is untrue or mean but...c'mon two phone numbers and an email for your agent in a video about virus testing. I mean everyone deserves to make a living but...
On the plus side, he does do some hilarious looking non-Trump character work.
That said, if you are playing along at home, I wouldn't pick this one for the Donnie™
On March 27, Andrew Cotter posted a Tweet.
And this video...
The sports commentator for the BBC has previously covered golf, rugby, tennis and athletics which I guess means track and field. The first video attracted 350,000 views on Twitter and 794,737 on YouTube.
His follow up video, Game of Bones, racked up over 17.1 million views on Twitter as well as 12,000 comments, 176,000 retweets and 633,000 likes.
Cotter is using his new found celebrity to support Dogs for Good, a charity which "explores ways dogs can help people overcome specific challenges." Until May 17, you can Tweet a 60 second video of your dog using the hashtag #winningfromhome. The winning entry will be commentated on by Cotter. Entry is free but Dogs for Good is asking for a £2.00 (about 2.50 in real money) donation.
Both these videos are strong contenders. But it's possible that the votes will be split between the two of them opening the door for another nominee.
That nominee could well be J-L Cauvin, the New Jersey comedian who scored big numbers with Donald-Trump vs God on Easter. Cauvin worked as an assistant DA in the Bronx until turning to comedy in 2004. From his web site..."After 16 years of ups and downs he finally became Internet famous in 2020… thanks to a global pandemic."
His video was seen by between 2 and 3 million viewers and has been forwarded by the Daily Kos, Upworthy and The Other98 among many others.
I think Cauvin has the best Trump voice of all the impersonators out there. He has that gruff, deep in the throat thing happening. Being holiday specific could be a challenge in getting to the top of this category.
On April 25, Brad Pitt portrayed Dr. Anthony Fauci during the SNL cold open. Dr Fauci approved of Pitt's performance. “I’m a great fan of Brad Pitt, and that’s the reason why, when people ask me who I would like to play me, I mention Brad Pitt. He’s one of my favorite actors.”
The video of Pitt's performance racked up 13 million views just on SNL's site alone. The online coverage of the impersonation has been overwhelmingly positive. Even Fox News reviewed the sketch with straight ahead reporting.
One thing bothered me while reading about the Pitt-Fauci sketch. It was a headline from the Independent, a British left leaning website.
Destroys Trump? I haven't been following the news but I think Trump is still around. Still in office. Around 44% approval rating. The same as before the confinement. Over 60 million voters still like him. Not destroyed.
Phew.
Pitt does a great job but I liked him better as Cliff Booth. Still star power, on point messaging and a shout out to health care workers and Dr. Fauci could mean Brad could have a Donnie™ sitting sent to his Oscar.
Thanks for reading.
Tomorrow, I'll reveal the nominees for the best video of the confinement.
Yes, J-L Cauvin is good. We liberals think he's funny and we like him; non-college educated whites, and too many rich white guys, think Trump's funny and they like him. Cauvin in this clip does exactly what Trump does. No difference. Not one iota. He's not more or less serious, ironic, satirical, or full of bullshit than Trump. I suppose it comes down to setting: sometimes what's funny on television is not so funny in real life...
ReplyDelete... or it shouldn't be!
ReplyDeleteIt's different than Rich Little doing Nixon or Carson doing Reagan. And not sure why. Weird week for me. I usually try to stay out of the way of the crisis. Next week will be back to full distraction. The award show will be hilarious. Ben Shearn is co-hosting with surprise guest stars.
ReplyDeleteI don’t know but when Cauvin does the cough I laugh out loud every time. I think you might be missing a heavy hitter in this genre (Sarah Cooper) though maybe the fact that she is lip syncing disqualifies her?
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about Sarah Cooper. Just checked her out. She's hilarious. I have not been clear about the rules of the Donnies™. To qualify the image, clip or video had to be sent to me by May 1. Without rules there is chaos. Maybe like in Wisconsin. Thanks for commenting. I liked your painting video.
ReplyDelete