New TV show mocking Trump enters crowded satire market
NEW YORK: The explosive dawn of the Donald Trump presidency is energizing comedians and satirists as TV ratings boom, shows proliferate and top talents vie to portray the commanderin-chief as a buffoon.
Into the crowded market dives a new offering — “The President Show,” starring Trump impersonator Anthony Atamanuik as the Republican leader broadcasting his own reality show from the Oval Office.
The weekly program, which made its debut Thursday on Comedy Central, caricatures Trump as a person bent on bypassing the mainstream media, spliced with advice from a liberal pundit and a trip to New York where wife Melania has changed the locks.
“I have the power to destroy any country on earth, but I promise you it’ll be America First,” says Atamanuik in character, repeating Trump’s campaign slogan and reinforcing the liberal stereotype of the president as an ignorant blowhard.
But to win the ratings war there is stiff competition.
In the weekly market, there is “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” on TBS, the first feminist political satire show on mainstream US television; “Last Week Tonight” with John Oliver on HBO; and the long-running and mostwidely watched comedy show “Saturday Night Live” on NBC.
Weeknights there is “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on CBS, whose satirical tone has overtaken rival NBC entertainer Jimmy Fallon in the ratings; and “The Daily Show” with Trevor Noah on Comedy Central.
“Right now, satire sees itself as more important than it has been in a very long time,” says Dannagal Young, associate professor communication at the University of Delaware.
“In recent memory, I don’t think that we have seen a time that is as frightening, especially for the left, as this moment.”
If ratings and advertising sales are up, so too are career fortunes.
Alec Baldwin has swapped headlines about tussling with paparazzi for rave reviews for his Trump impersonation on Saturday Night Live (SNL).
Melissa McCarthy’s impersonation of the White House spokesman, also on SNL, reportedly riled the president and has driven headlines.
Comedians say there are rich pickings in an administration which has defied so many norms, from Trump refusing to fully divest from his businesses to concerns about nepotism and Russian meddling in the election.
The fact that Trump is notoriously thin- skinned, makes him more fun to goad.
Satire “has the ability to help people cope,” said Stephen Groening, assistant professor in the department of comparative literature, cinema and media at the University of Washington.