Emcees never know how to introduce Glen Griffith’s act.
As they call for the President of the United States, the Toronto comedian walks up to the stage in orange face paint and a shaggy wig, serenaded by “Hail to the Chief” as some nervous laughter slowly rolls through the audience.
“This is Donald J. Trump,” he’ll tell the crowd before he squints, makes pointed hand gestures and mumbles about his presidential achievements.
Though he doesn’t associate with the MAGA crowd, Griffith has been steadily working as a Trump impersonator across private parties, comedy clubs, online spaces like Cameo and even international competitions since his first campaign in 2016.
He loves the gig for the powerful reactions he draws. The only issue is his customer base fluctuates with Trump’s erratic highs and lows and with a trade war in full swing, Griffith is nervous as he sees his bookings already slowing down.
“I’m not offending people, I’m making people laugh, and I’m making them laugh at him,” Griffith said. “That’s what we ought to do.”
Griffith, 77, came up as a standup in the 1970s, headlining Yuk Yuks Toronto with his signature Jack Nicholson impression, and made appearances on Canadian TV while working as a copywriter for Canadian Tire and Zellers.
He’s several inches shorter and a couple of years younger than Trump, but something sparked in his mind when he saw the feverish response other comedians got with their Trump impressions before he was even selected as the Republican nominee in 2016.
“As a comedian, that’s what I want: reaction and attention, just like Trump.”
He went to Party City to get what was labelled the Presidential Wig, for what he thought would be a few-month gig until Trump lost the election. He was hired as the proxy-Trump during Yuk Yuk’s 2016 election night special, as comedians made fun of his impending loss. His impression grew increasingly brash as it became clear Trump could win.
A year later, he was selected as one of the 10 best Trump impressions in the world and invited to the Laugh Factory in Hollywood, where they would crown a champ. He lost, he admits there are far better impersonators out there, but he learned from the others that he has to brand himself.
It’s an interesting balance of power for Griffith. In many ways, he’s at the will of Trump’s actions. He’s also seen the strong reactions he gets when he walks into a room. Beyond the paid gigs and social media posts, Griffith used to just walk around Yonge-Dundas in his getup just to see how people responded.
“People are just drawn to me. You can’t imagine the power he must feel actually being Trump, people are just so open.”
He spends much of his free time studying speech patterns and practicing YMCA dance moves, though Griffith said his wife often jokes that she can’t look at him while he’s dressed up.
His family sees those strong reactions to his alter ego too. They often worry someone could attack him, but Griffith just hopes people recognize him as a comedian, making light of a difficult situation.
“The best thing to do is turn it around on the guy.”
