SUBSCRIBE & SAVE Less than $3 per week View Profile The Explainer Talking Points The Week Recommends Newsletters From the Magazine The Week Junior Food & Drink Personal Finance All Categories Newsletter sign up under the radar Business booms 'bigly' for Trump impersonators 'Insane' demand for presidential doppelgangers at parties, golf tournaments – even children's birthdays Newsletter sign up 'Unstoppable': one impersonator's bookings have increased by 40% since Trump was re-elected (Image credit: Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images) By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK published 11 March 2025 Booked-out diaries, assassination fears and an assault in a hotel lift: Donald Trump impersonators have had quite a ride since the Maga original returned to the White House. With "appearances at parades, golf tournaments and even kids' parties" the Trump lookalike industry is booming, said The Independent. And there's serious cash to be made from being a Donald doppelganger: on Gig Salad, a platform used to book performers, prices for a personal appearance range from $100 (£77) to $20,000 (£15,500). Subscribe to The Week Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives. SUBSCRIBE & SAVE Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. 'Bulletproof vest' Business had been good even before Trump entered the White House for the second time, Florida-based Trump impersonator Thomas Mundy told The Independent. After Trump lost the election in 2020, "people were so p***ed, my bookings doubled". And when Trump got indicted, "my business quadrupled". Since Trump's re-election in November, Mundy's business has been "insane". He was even approached by a woman to appear at her five-year-old's birthday party. His act is "pretty raunchy", Mundy said, so he and the mother are still "in negotiations". There is also money to be made on this side of the Atlantic. A Trump impersonator from Southampton, whose income has already increased by 40% since Trump was re-elected, told The Guardian he is expecting an "unstoppable" four years of business. Mike Osman, also known as "Donald Trumped", says the secret to mimicking the US president's skin tone is to "slap on the matt foundation with a brush and then use a lighter colour around the eyes". But the rewards of imitating such a polarising political figure are not without risk. John Di Domenico, "the world's most famous Trump impersonator", said he has been urged by friends to wear a bulletproof vest after he was attacked "by a livid liberal" in a Las Vegas lift last summer, said The Sun. Di Domenico told the paper that feelings about Trump run so high, he now "requires security staff for gigs". Fortunes and fate It's been a different story for the comedians who "lampooned" Kamala Harris and Joe Biden: they're finding out the hard way that impersonators' fortunes "rise and fall based on the fates of the people they portray", said The New York Times. Allison Reese "found fame online" with her impression of former US vice-president Kamala Harris, earning hundreds of thousands of followers on TikTok, interviews on national news programmes and even a movie role. But since Harris ran for president and lost to Trump, Reese has "had some professional mourning to do", as interest and demand for her impersonations quickly dried up. Still, there's always room for a pivot. John Morgan once made "over a million dollars" impersonating former US president George W. Bush but, he told The Independent, he has now "transitioned onto the Trump scene". Explore More Donald Trump Kamala Harris Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Social Links Navigation Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books. When the insurer says ‘no’ Health insurance companies appear to be denying a growing share of patient claims. Why? By The Week US Published 10 March 25 Foreign aid: The human toll of drastic cuts The assault has 'stunned' nonprofits whose efforts to fight hunger, disease, and instability are now shuttering By The Week US Published 10 March 25 Romania's election chaos risks international fallout IN THE SPOTLIGHT By barring far-right candidate Calin Georgescu from the country's upcoming electoral re-do, Romania places itself in the center of a broader struggle over European ultra-nationalism By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published 10 March 25 You might also like Foreign aid: The human toll of drastic cuts The assault has 'stunned' nonprofits whose efforts to fight hunger, disease, and instability are now shuttering By The Week US Published 10 March 25 'The Postal Service has bound our nation together' Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published 10 March 25 ICE arrests Palestinian advocate with green card Recent Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil has had his visa revoked, despite his status as a permanent resident By Peter Weber, The Week US Published 10 March 25 Trump doesn't rule out recession as tariffs bite In an interview for Fox News, Trump acknowledges the economic turbulence caused by his tariffs but claims his policies will be worth it in the long run By Peter Weber, The Week US Published 10 March 25 Trump eases Mexico, Canada tariffs again as markets slide The president suspended some of the 25% tariffs he imposed on Mexican and Canadian imports By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published 7 March 25 Trump tells Cabinet they are in charge of layoffs, not Musk The White House has faced mounting complaints about DOGE's sweeping cuts By Peter Weber, The Week US Published 7 March 25 Trump pauses Ukraine intelligence sharing The decision is intended to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into peace negotiations with Vladimir Putin By Peter Weber, The Week US Published 6 March 25 Supreme Court rules against Trump on aid freeze The court rejected the president's request to freeze nearly $2 billion in payments for foreign humanitarian work By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published 6 March 25 View More ▸ Contact Future's experts Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Advertise With Us The Week is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site. Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street