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Move over Alec Baldwin … there is another fictional version of President Donald J. Trump in town and he made an appearance at New York Comic Con.
Smack in the middle of the super fandom, where superheroes of all forms walk the floor, one political superhero—or super foe depending on who you talk to—was President Trump in the form of comedian Anthony Atamanuik of Comedy Central’s The President Show.
Debuting last April and recently renewed for seven additional episodes, The President Show is created by and stars Atamanuik as an obsessively cartoonish version of Trump, driven by an intense ego and hunger for constant attention. Peter Grosz is featured as a particularly passive version of Vice President Mike Pence.
Presented as a satirical late-night talk show hosted by Atamanuik as Trump and featuring desk segments, field pieces and guest interviews, each topical episode looks for the humor in current events, which, “with Trump at the center there is never any shortage of absurdity,” said Atamanuik.
“Imagine if we did this show five years ago, where we would suggest that Donald Trump would be president, and I assume people would be wondering why we would possibly do this. This couldn’t really be possible,” said Atamanuik. “This show stemmed from a reaction from a long period, from when he ran for office, and I was doing a live show as Trump, and that transformed in the course of the year into realizing he would actually get elected.”
Atamanuik got his start playing Trump during an improvisational performance with the Upright Citizens Brigade in 2015.
“A group of people said let’s make a television version of those famous fireside chats, and what we created, I think, is really a dark extension of Trump’s very complicated mind,” he said. “I think Trump and Pence together are like Abbott and Costello. But Abbott and Costello were not controlling our country. There is more danger in this duo, and there is never any shortage of material to work with.”
Featured alongside Atamanuik and Grosz are recurring cast members James Adomian as Bernie Sanders, John Gemberling as Steve Bannon, and Mario Cantone as Anthony Scaramucci—not the mention the guest stars who are not always privy to seeing Atamanuik out of character.
“Each day of taping I sit in makeup for about two hours transforming into Trump. So, because of that, when a guest comes in I’m already fully made up as him and that image is formed in their mind,” said Atamanuik. “There a lot of guests who when they see me in another venue don’t even have a clue who I am.”
On the flip side, Atamanuik in full Trump garb doesn’t always evoke the best response.
“I recently had a woman in Times Square shouting obscenities at me, which probably tells me I am doing my impersonation right,” he said. “We are writing and doing this show for the objective to try to end this nightmare, or at least try to get through it with a sense of humor. You really do need one in the presidency.”
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