A British Donald Trump impersonator is looking forward to an “unstoppable” four years, thanking the American president for providing him with a pension pot for his retirement.
Southampton-based Mike Osman, a 65-year-old comedian, said his income had increased by between 30 and 40% since Trump was re-elected and he was expecting to have the busiest year of his career.
“I knew he’d win and he won in a huge way, taking all the swing states, and he’s got himself a mandate to do whatever he wants,” he said. “He’s given me another four years of work and then I’m going to retire – that’s my plan.”
Osman – the self-styled “Donald Trumped” – said he had keenly watched the inauguration of the US president on Monday because he wanted to become even more “Donaldified”.
“It was an important day for America and an important day for the world, but it was a huge day for me to watch what the world was saying, to watch the reaction of the world and also to sit and watch him because I want people to believe that I am him,” he said.
“You saw at the inauguration the confidence [Trump] had when he was talking to the crowd. He’s unstoppable and he knows that and I sort of have that same attitude when I work as Donald Trump.”
The comedian said he had seen an increase in requests for personalised messages requested via his website, and was considering taking jobs in the US. But he said that he had been forced to restyle his wig after the president changed his hairstyle in the last two weeks.
“Gone is that big peak of a cap and he’s now got a huge quiff on the left-hand side and then it sweeps down to his right eye,” he said. “We had [the wig] completely restyled and refreshed because you’ve got to look like him.”
Osman, who wears a distinctly un-American blue double-breasted suit from Marks & Spencer while working, gave details of the makeup routine he relies on to help him achieve Trump’s distinctive skin tone.
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“I just slap on the matt foundation with a brush and then use a lighter colour around the eyes,” he added. “Then I’ll use a bit of the Mac over the top of it to slightly darken it.”
He said he was planning a US tour in the autumn, but would not lose his own sense of self. “When I’m Trump, I’m Trump – every mannerism, every look, every eye movement, the shape of his mouth, the fingers, the gestures,” he said. “When I’m not Trump, I’m just Mike.”
