New episodes of The President Show air Thursdays at 11:30pm on Comedy Central.
Anthony Atamanuik has been performing stand-up for many years, but first found the spotlight during the 2016 US Presidential election. Portraying then-candidate Donald Trump in a nationwide Trump vs Bernie comedy tour, Atamanuik showed off his spot-on impression skills playing America’s most powerful sleaze ball. Now, Comedy Central executives have granted this version of the 45th POTUS his own late-night talk show. In just a few episodes, The President Show has moved to the front in a crowded field of political comedy.
Mining the chaos of the current administration for laughs isn’t exactly challenging. Every day brings more ridiculous and troubling headlines. But finding a unique take on 45’s incompetency is though. Colbert’s scathing takedowns can only be repeated so many times. That’s why The President Show is refreshing; Putting Trump in the host position generates big laughs and cutting edge commentary. Atamanuik’s Donald fancies himself the next Johnny Carson, and he even has the painfully unfunny Mike Pence (Peter Grosz) as his sidekick. The half hour show includes classic desk segments and hilarious ‘man on the street’ field pieces.
In contrast to Saturday Night Live’s resident Trump impersonator Alec Baldwin, Atamanuik goes above and beyond. Baldwin only scratches the surface of how despicable the sitting President is. Here, Anthony delves deep into Trump’s psyche to show how he really ticks. While The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon continues to poke fun at Trump’s hair and hands, The President Show rips apart every aspect of Trump’s behavior. His pettiness, childishness, desire to be loved, and thirst for power are all on full display.
The best impressions aren’t about the voice, rather what is being said. The President Show is proving itself to be a successful experiment.
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