He’s Been Imitating Donald Trump for 12 Years — but Only Now Is It Paying Off in a Big Way

Full-time Donald Trump impersonator John Di Domenico has been impersonating the billionaire businessman for 12 years — since 2004 — but is only now making a decent living at the job after Trump rose to be the 2016 Republican front-runner in the race for the White House.

Di Domenico, who says he first mastered the voice and mannerisms of the New York mogul when the television show "The Apprentice" first began to air, told the Daily Mail UK that his booking requests have skyrocketed in the last half year, as well as the amount of money he's able to charge per event — up to $10,000.

Image source: Youtube

During events, Di Domenico usually performs a stand-up comedy routine that involves insulting the event-goers, much like Trump does in real life. While in character, Di Domenico says he is often mistaken for the real Trump while being bombarded with fans requesting selfies.

"Whenever I'm in character people yell out 'Trump Trump Trump,' its hilarious, some of the reactions I've had have been incredible," Di Domenico said. "People literally scream, 'We love you Donald!' at me, others want selfies, it's shocking how many people love him."

He added, "Whenever I'm performing, I have to keep remembering to 'Trump it up' and pull people out of the audience to roast them in character — its great fun. People love getting roasted by Trump, I never cross the line but they're always left laughing."

Trump's image of being seen with world-famous super models has also parlayed to Di Domenico.

"Women kiss me, put their arms around me, it's really fascinating, a few years ago that wasn't happening but more recently it's changed a lot," he said. "I've had Instagram pictures with some very beautiful women, they're attracted to Trump personality rather than me — because he's such a manly man who says and gets what he wants."

Di Domenico typically does four events each month, earning approximately $40,000. But he says the money he earns is split between his agent, business costs, his wigs, suits and other expenses.

He began his impersonations at the age of 5 to help him overcome a speech impediment.

Here's a sampling of Di Domenico's skill:

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