Las Vegas’ Donald Trump has ended his Howard Stern run
Howard Stern’s Las Vegas-based Donald Trump has termed out.
John Di Domenico’s inspired run as Trump on “The Howard Stern Show” is finished. Di Domenico said Tuesday his portrayal has faded away, unannounced.
It became apparent in October 2023 that Stern’s team was looking for a different means to present Trump than Di Domenico’s “long-form” portrayal. Austin Nasso, who gained a following on social media with his Trump act, had been ducking in and out of the show with his quick-shot bits.
“We were coming out of the summer, and Austin had been doing Trump, along with me,” Di Domenico said. “Austin is just a super-talented young impressionist. They really liked what he was doing, popping in and out.”
Di Domenico premiered on the program in June 2020, seemingly out of nowhere. Stern had caught an online clip of Di Dominico/Trump the previous March, bragging about his “perfectly negative” COVID test.
Di Domenico blazed through his first live interview with Stern, who had asked about mail fraud in the upcoming election. Di Domenico blamed children for rigging the election. “They are selling the ballots, and they are laundering the money through the lemonade stands, and the newspaper routes. I mean, these kids are doing TikTok and WhatsApp and mail fraud.”
Di Domenico is fine to shelve the act. He is happy not to be in character at 5 a.m., as Trump, in his tiny home studio. But Di Domenico did make one appearance with Stern in his Sirius XM studios in New York,
Di Domenico remains busy on the corporate circuit, as Trump, along with Dr. Phil, Austin Powers, Guy Fieri and many others.
On Election Night, Di Domenico busted in on Carrot Top’s show, as Trump, and the place came apart. Di Domenico even brought in the accomplished Kim Jong Un impressionist Howard X, introducing him from the crowd.
But Di Domenico might put away Trump forever, post-Stern. He has his own solid stand-up act outside of his impressions. It’s really good, and the direction he needs to embrace to expand beyond Trump.
Di Domenico’s time with Stern was a genuine score, lifting him to a national audience.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have been on the show,” Di Domenico said. “It was an honor to have been with Howard so many times on air. I was exclusive for three years and it was great.”
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
