You’ve seen it a thousand times on Saturday Night Live. Alec Baldwin did the heavy-breathing, squinty-eyed version. James Austin Johnson—the current gold standard—captured the rambling, stream-of-consciousness "weave." But if you want to learn how to do a Trump impression that actually kills at a party or on camera, you have to look past the orange makeup and the wig. It’s about the physics of the throat. It's about the weirdly specific vocabulary. It’s about the hands.
Most people just yell. They get loud and raspy and call it a day. That’s a mistake.
The Secret is in the "Accordion" and the Air
Donald Trump doesn’t actually shout as much as people think he does. He has this very specific, breathy quality. Think of it as a pressurized whisper that happens at the front of the mouth. If you want to nail how to do a Trump impression, you need to start with your placement. Move your voice from your chest up into your nasal cavity and the very tip of your lips.
It’s almost like you’re trying to talk while holding a very small, expensive piece of glass between your teeth.
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Shane Gillis, who arguably has the most "human" version of the voice right now, focuses on the pout. You have to extend your lips forward. Make a "U" shape. When you say words like "huge" or "beautiful," you aren't just saying them; you’re pushing them out of a tiny opening. This creates that iconic "billowing" sound. It’s airy. It’s light. It’s rarely aggressive in the way a drill sergeant is aggressive. It’s more like a salesman who is very, very disappointed in you.
Watch the Hands
You can’t do the voice without the hands. You just can’t.
Imagine you are holding an invisible accordion. Or better yet, imagine you are describing the size of a very large fish that keeps changing size. Your hands should stay in a "C" shape, palms facing each other. As you emphasize a point, the accordion expands. When you hit a "very" or a "totally," the accordion shrinks.
Then there’s the "L" shape. The thumb and forefinger pinch. This is for the precise points. If you’re talking about "the numbers" or "the border," you pinch the air. It signals authority. Without these physical tics, the voice sounds hollow because Trump’s speech is entirely rhythmic. The hands provide the beat.
The Vocabulary of Hyperbole
To make the impression stick, you have to stop using normal adjectives. Toss "good," "bad," and "okay" in the trash. They don't exist in this universe. Instead, everything is either the "greatest in the history of our country" or a "total disaster."
There is no middle ground.
Here’s a quick list of words you need to master. Don't just say them; savor them.
- Millions: Pronounced "bill-yons and bill-yons."
- Disaster: Usually preceded by "complete and total."
- Beautiful: Use this for things that aren't traditionally beautiful, like a wall or a piece of legislation.
- China: This is the classic. It's not "Chai-na." It's "Ch-ai-nah," with a heavy emphasis on the "Ch" and a weirdly soft ending.
- Many people are saying: This is the ultimate rhetorical shield. It allows you to say anything without taking credit for the thought.
If you look at the transcripts of his rallies, you’ll notice he rarely finishes a sentence in a linear way. He starts a thought about a hotel, pivots to a story about a general he met in 2014, mentions how "low-energy" someone is, and then circles back to the hotel three minutes later. This is what James Austin Johnson calls "The Weave." To do a great Trump impression, you have to learn to interrupt yourself.
Start a sentence. Get halfway through. Then, act like a new, better thought just hit you.
"We went to the restaurant—great restaurant, by the way, very high ratings, everyone said it was the best—and the steak, you wouldn't believe the steak..."
The Anatomy of the Pout
Let’s talk about the face. You need to squint. Not like you can't see, but like you're looking into a very bright sun and you're the only one who can handle the glare. Combine the squint with the forward-thrusting chin.
This creates the "mask."
When you’re practicing how to do a Trump impression, do it in front of a mirror and watch your upper lip. It should barely move. The lower lip does all the work. It’s a very bottom-heavy way of speaking. If your eyebrows are jumping all over the place like a cartoon, you’ve gone too far. Keep the top of the face relatively still and let the mouth do the dancing.
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Why Accuracy Matters More Than Mockery
The reason most impressions fail is that they start from a place of dislike. If you’re just trying to make fun of him, you’ll miss the nuance. The best impressionists—people like Jaleel White or even the various guys on TikTok—treat it like a character study. You have to find the rhythm of the confidence.
Trump speaks like he’s never been interrupted in his life, even when he’s being interrupted. There’s a certain "flow" to it. If you hesitate or look like you’re searching for a word, the illusion breaks. You have to be 100% sure of the nonsense you are saying.
- Step 1: Tighten the throat and push the voice to the nose.
- Step 2: Pout the lips and keep the jaw somewhat tense.
- Step 3: Use the "accordion" hands to pace your sentences.
- Step 4: Never use a small word when a "tremendous" one will do.
The Nuance of the "OK"
One of the most underrated parts of the voice is the "OK" or the "Yeah." He often uses these as punctuation at the end of a sentence. It’s a quick, breathy "okay" that resets the room. It’s a way of saying, "I just said something incredible, and now we all agree." Practice adding that at the end of a random sentence about your lunch. "The tuna sandwich was fantastic, maybe the best tuna anyone has ever seen, okay?"
It works. It's weird how well it works.
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To really nail this, record yourself. Listen for the "air." If you sound like you’re straining your vocal cords, you’re doing too much "angry" Trump. Aim for "casual, bragging" Trump. That’s where the comedy lives. It’s in the mundane details being described as historical events.
Actionable Next Steps for Your Impression
If you’re serious about perfecting this, stop watching the news and start watching the unedited rally footage. Focus on the first five minutes. That’s when the energy is highest and the vocal tics are most pronounced.
- Isolate the Vowels: Practice saying "No" and "Go." They should sound like "N-oa" and "G-oa." The "O" is long and rounded.
- The "Chin-First" Walk: Stand up. Lead with your belt buckle. Keep your arms slightly stiff at your sides. The voice follows the body.
- The Vocabulary Swap: Take a boring news article and try to "translate" it into Trump-speak using the hyperbole rules mentioned earlier. Replace "unemployment decreased" with "the jobs are pouring in like nobody has ever seen before."
- Master the "Quiet Voice": Some of the funniest parts of the impression come when he drops to a near-whisper to share a "secret" with the audience. "And they said, sir, you can't do it... can you believe that?"
The goal isn't just to sound like him—it's to think like the character. Once you understand that every sentence is an attempt to sell the audience on his own greatness, the voice falls into place naturally.