Comedian Frank Caliendo is heading back to Tucson this weekend and heโs bringing along a high-powered political guest.
Caliendo, the master of celebrity impersonations of everybody from Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton to sports figures Charles Barkley and John Madden, is towing along his new favorite subject, Donald J. Trump. The billionaire Republican presidential candidate has been Caliendoโs on-stage sidekick since Trump announced his presidential run last summer.
But donโt expect Caliendo to get into the weeds with Trumpโs politics โ his stance on immigration issues, the economy, free trade or law and order.
Caliendo sticks to the funny stuff.
โHe makes up his own facts, which a lot of people do but he does it better,โ the 42-year-old comedian and father of two says. โHeโll say somethingโ โ and here Caliendo slips into his Donald Trump voice โ โ โand Iโm not the only one saying this.โ So people will go out and say, โDid you hear about that?โ โYeah, Trumpโs not the only one saying it.โโ
The other Trumpian fallback: โAnd everybody knows it,โ Caliendo, a longtime resident of Tempe, adds, again assuming the billionaireโs voice.
โItโs brilliant how he does it,โ he says, adding that he met Trump years ago at a show where Caliendo impersonated the business mogul. โI just talk about the silliness of where heโs coming from. I donโt get into the policy and stuff like that.โ
Caliendo views the Trump run as an extended reality show, something of a takeoff of Trumpโs โCelebrity Apprentice.โ
โThatโs the first line when I get up on stage. โI am really enjoying this new reality show, โThe Presidential Electionโ,โ he says, adding that no one should really be surprised by the entertainment value of a presidential campaign or presidential politics in general.
โListen, the president currently goes on Jimmy Fallon and slow jams the news. I mean, whatโs the next step?โ he says. โItโs sad but thatโs where weโre at. People get so mad about Trump โ I donโt hate him as much as other people; I donโt like him but I donโt like anybody. ... But politicians are on TV constantly now. In the office of the president, you used to not see anybody. You wanted them on the TV shows, but they wouldnโt do it. Now they do all the TV shows and to me itโs kind of embarrassing. Can you imagine if (Trump) won? That would be even more embarrassing, the stuff he could do.โ
A Trump presidency would be a gift to comedy โif he acts the same way heโs acting now,โ Caliendo says. โBut they all do act differently in campaigns than they do in office. But Iโm not sure he can turn that off.โ
Of course, Caliendo is not one to speculate on how this wacky 2016 presidential election will end up. And lord help you if you are turning to him for direction.
โIf you listen to me for political advice, youโve got a problem.โ
