• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, April 11, 2017

A new show coming to Comedy Central this month, whose sole purpose is to skewer President Trump every week, continues a long tradition in presidential satire.

That wasn’t my first reaction when I first read about this new show -- titled “The President Show” and due to premiere on April 27. 

Comedy Central announced it last week: This weekly half-hour, scheduled to air Thursdays at 11:30 p.m. Eastern, will have comic actor Anthony Atamanuik “hosting” this satirical show in the role of Trump -- basically, a weekly one-man show.

Atamanuik is apparently better known within the community of comedic actors than to the rest of us, but at some point he earned a reputation for doing the best Trump impersonation out there at the moment.

As a result, he can expect to be employed for the duration of the Trump presidential era -- if not on this “President’s Show” if it doesn’t last, but on any show or TV commercial where a Trump impersonation might be needed.

If my reaction was skeptical at first, it was because I had not yet cogitated on the topic of presidential impersonations until sitting down to write this blog.

And then the memories came flooding back. There have always been these presidential impersonators whose careers rose or fell depending on the careers of their host subjects.

Maybe it’s just because of the era in which I grew up, but it’s possible that the Nixon administration represented some sort of zenith in this impersonation practice.

Those of us of a certain age can remember a time when TV was awash in Nixon impressions. These came most notably from the dueling impression-comics of the era Rich Little and David Frye.

But many comedians and variety-show performers could be seen in those days flashing Nixon-esque peace signs and prefacing some satirical statement with the words “Let me make one thing perfectly clear …!”

In the Ford administration, Chevy Chase’s impressions of the president helped put the young “Saturday Night Live” on the map. During the Reagan administration, there was a guy named Jim Morris who performed all over the place as Reagan.

Another impersonator, Steve Bridges, specialized in playing George W. Bush on Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show.” Bridges even looked like the real man.

For some reason, notable impersonators of Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush don’t come to mind. As for President Clinton, Darrell Hammond played him often on “SNL.”

Some who read this blog today will likely seek Vaughn Meader’s name here. And if he wasn’t mentioned here, a comment or two noting this omission would be sure to follow down below in the comments section.

Therefore, here is Meader. He was a comedian who became famous during the Kennedy administration for his impersonations of the president. A comedy album of Meader’s titled “The First Family” was a bestseller, but Meader’s career as a JFK impersonator was cut short by the president’s tragic death.

Here in the Trump era, the Nixon-impersonation era is being exceeded by a president and an administration that is unsurpassed in our lifetimes as a source for comedy material.

Trump impersonators abound -- from Jimmy Fallon to Alec Baldwin. But with Anthony Atamanuik, it’s possible the Trump era has found its premiere impersonator -- someone for whom impersonating Trump is something of a specialty. 

One big difference between the Trump and Nixon eras is this: Nixon didn’t have Twitter. On the morning after the premiere of “The President’s Show” on Comedy Central, you can almost be certain Trump will tweet his review.

And if he likes the show, that’s great. And if he hates it, that’s even better.