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World’s most famous Donald Trump impersonator was ‘choked by liberal maniac in hotel elevator’ as safety fears grow
The comedian has also taken on several other famous characters ahead of the election
THE world’s most famous Donald Trump impersonator says friends have urged him to wear bulletproof vests during performances over fears for his safety.
John Di Domenico, who satirizes the former POTUS with non-political spoof skits, says tensions are so high on both sides of the aisle that he requires security staff for gigs.
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John has seen his public interactions drastically change since Trump transitioned from being “a game show host” to a serious political candidate in the past decade.
After Thomas Matthew Crooks tried to kill Trump with an AR-15 at a rally in Pennsylvania in July, John - dressed in full makeup as Trump - had his own major scare when a livid Liberal supporter tried to strangle him inside a Las Vegas hotel elevator.
John has been portraying The Donald around the world for over two decades, performing at corporate gigs, speaking events, TV shows, films, and podcasts.
But the 62-year-old feels emotions are boiling over for some when it comes to seeing Trump - even if he is just his “human avatar."
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“People say if you're doing anything outside, be careful, you better wear a bulletproof vest," John said.
“I've got that from semi-serious people, because you never know if someone wants to do another assassination attempt.
“Not on me but because I am like an avatar for him, it is not out of the realm of possibility that something could happen.
“All you need is someone to think I'm him.
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“I don't feel that I'm going to be shot at, but in today's environment, you just don't know someone wanting to make a point.
“And it could be on both sides because one of the things is people think I'm mocking him, and then you have people think I am him until they get close enough and see that I'm not.”
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John balanced impersonating Trump with Austin Powers, Dr. Phil, and Guy Fieri from the late 1990s to 2016.
However, when Trump began campaigning for the White House in 2015, bookings for that character dominated his schedule.
John, who writes his own comedic take on Trump’s speeches or comments, needed bouncers due to increasingly hostile and overzealous fans.
“If there's any component where I'm going to be exposed to the regular world, I always ask for security. It's just part of how things are nowadays," John said.
“Things are so divided and people can misinterpret what you're doing. If we're outside and we're shooting somewhere, I always like to make sure that I have somebody near me.
"If we're on the streets of New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, I cannot tell you the times that people yell from across the street and you just don't really feel too secure, so I'm kind of trying to mitigate those situations and do more indoor things.”
In 2018, John - clad in his Trump get-up - endured a terrifying encounter with a senior citizen overcome with anger who stepped into a hotel elevator after a Mandalay Bay Resort gig.
“An older gentleman turns and looks at me and my feeling is literally, okay we made it to the elevator," John recalled.
“And in that thought, in that moment, he grabs my throat and he starts choking me.
“And my producer Jack said to the person, ‘That's not him. It's not him.’ And he goes, ‘Yes, but it's what he stands for.’
“And he got his hands off and the doors open, the security came and got him. My feeling was I cannot be without at least one person, basically two.
“So now I always ask for some form of security.”
It's been amazing to be on Howard Stern for three years as Trump. This is kind of an amazing, amazing ride for my career.
John Di Domenico
EXPENSIVE WIG
The public often mistakes John for Trump given that his wig, facial makeup with aging effects, and clothes make him look like a dead ringer for the ex-POTUS.
John, whose handmade Trump wig cost $5,000, added: “I'm trying to be as authentic as possible, even down to the same suits he wears. [We're] almost like at a movie level.
“I'm going to work for everybody. I'm a performer. If someone wants to hire me at my rate, which it's expensive, I want to go in there and do 45 minutes and I'm going to knock their socks off.
“As a humorous and a satirist, I want to be for everybody. I want everyone to enjoy what I do. I don't politically have an axe to grind.
“I know that it doesn't matter what I do is going to change anybody's mind (about voting). That's not my job. If I can make him think about something more importantly, laugh about something, that's my job.”
YEARS OF TRUMP
Award-winning actor John has been lampooning the former Apprentice star since the early 2000s.
“The Apprentice was a big hit, and most people knew was a business person," John explained.
“People saw him was goofy or whatever. So for all those early years doing national sales meetings and trade shows and all that stuff, it was very easy. It was all fun.
“There was a lot of work writing it and doing the performances, but people loved it.
“They got such a great response from it. But as time has gone on since 2016, things started changing politically and people were seeing his policies in action and seeing the things that he was putting through the Senate and the Congress, then it started changing where I would do an event and I was in the trade show booth, and people would walk up and go, ‘I don't like you. I don't like you.’
"They didn't like him politically. They didn't like the things that had been amplified because of the Access Hollywood tape.
“Some people like it, some people don't. But they're sometimes making the judgment basically on the fact that I'm a satirist. And nothing gratifies me more than people who leave comments on my YouTube channel saying, 'Hey, I love Trump. I'm voting for Trump and this stuff is funny.'
"They get what I'm doing.”
What are Trump and Harris' platforms?
A look at what issues matter most to the candidates.
Harris' talking points:
- The importance of democracy after the January 6 attack on the Capitol
- Advocate for abortion rights after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade with a 6-3 judgment in 2022
- Lowering costs for consumers, including rent control, capping prescription drug prices, and banning food and grocery price gouging
- Support for Ukraine and Israel while they are at war
- Highlight the strong US economy and low unemployment rates during Biden's presidency
Trump's talking points:
- Slam issues at the US-Mexico border, which was a critical talking point for his 2016 win
- Criticize the slew of criminal and civil lawsuits filed against him
- Applaud the Trump-appointed Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Discuss a plan to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, although he hasn't said which country he wants to win
- Advocate for parents' rights to regulate and restrict discussion of gender, sexuality, and race in schools
'A LOT OF CONTENT'
And in recent years Trump has “approved his [John's] message,” confirmed his friend and aide Kellyanne Conway.
“She said I was Trump's favorite. He actually called me the 'nice Trump,'" John claimed.
Trump’s team has hired John to do voiceovers on projects, attend events on his behalf, and perform at a birthday party as Powers.
John claims that Trump and his team have also been so impressed by his funny lines, they have used them publicly.
“I've been saying for weeks, 'I like to go out and complain.’ It's complaining and campaigning at the same time ... And then Bill Maher took that two weeks ago.
“So my stuff is definitely getting out there. And I really become more aggravated about it because I'm a one-man writer putting out content on this set, and they've got 28 writers at the Daily Show, and they're ripping my stuff off. So I become a little more proprietary about my comedy. I put out a lot of content.”
If there's any component where I'm going to be exposed to the regular world, I always ask for security. It's just part of how things are nowadays.
John Di Domenico
READY TO EXPAND
John has appeared in Hollywood movies and worldwide TV shows as Trump, spoken in front of the European Parliament, and performed for millions.
He admits no matter what the result of the election, his Trump will still be in demand.
But he is pushing to expand his own work as a standup, event host, and presenter, as well as a script and show creator and writer.
“It has been a unique opportunity, which I never thought I'd have, to be on five late-night talk shows at the exact same time," John said.
“It's been amazing to be on Howard Stern for three years as Trump. This is kind of an amazing, amazing ride for my career," he added.
“I was talking about doing things more as myself because I've always been in makeup or you hear me [on the radio], very few people beyond that know who I am.
"As someone who's always wanted to be a performer and a comedian, to make my living consistently year over year, and to run it as a business, that's been pretty incredible.
“Professionally I’m ready to expand and move backwards and forwards at the same time. We are making a push with my agent and in my marketing to kind of unmask me so I can be a little more authentic and not be behind the characters, be in front of the characters.
“I'm doing more hosting and being seen as myself and it's great. It's great to be on stage as me."
He concluded: “Obviously with Trump, he's not going anywhere. If he wins, obviously I'm going to be doing him, and if he doesn't win, I'm going to be doing him. The guy's not going anywhere until he is unable to speak.
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“He will be in the news every single day because our mainstream media and our right-leaning media and the left-leaning media are addicted to this guy. This is the crack cocaine of infotainment as opposed to news.”
For more of John’s comedy, visit YouTube and TheJohnnyDshow.
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