This Morning viewers have slammed the daytime show for, what they’ve deemed to be, a “pathetically childish” and “immature attack” on soon-to-be US President, Donald Trump.
A little over 24 hours after Trump was confirmed to have won the race for the White House over Kamala Harris, ITV bosses welcomed comedian and impersonator John Di Domenico onto the program.
Di Domenico’s comedic portrayal of the Republican candidate comes just one day after ITV faced “bias” fury over Good Morning Britain’s handling of the US election results.
Introduced as the real Donald Trump, presenters Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard began their interview with Di Domenico as if he were the actual President-elect.
“Yesterday, the American people officially elected him as their Commander-in-Chief,” a straight-faced Shephard began before Deeley weighed in: “He’s taken time out of his busy schedule just for us. Be upstanding for the President-elect… Donald Trump.”
This Morning’s cameras then transported viewers to “The White House” where Di Domenico was stood behind a podium in his Trump costume.
ITV This Morning: Trump impersonator sparks outrage
ITV
“Good morning, President-elect, Mr Trump,” Shephard said as Di Domenico began to thank the ITV hosts while waving his hands around in an animated fashion.
“It’s so great to be with the people of Ing-er-lund,” Di Domenico said as she mocked the 78-year-old. “I love Ing-er-lund. I love the Queen.”
The comic then joked that he’d been “knighted” in secret and that he’d been “begged” to be the UK Prime Minister by the late monarch.
Other questions centred on mocking Trump’s relationship with wife Melania and why the American people voted for the Republican nominee.
ITV This Morning: Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard sniggered throughout their interview with the Trump impersonator
ITV
Shephard and Deeley kept up the façade as they questioned Di Domenico as if he were Trump, to which he provided further tongue-in-cheek responses before the presenting duo spoke briefly to him out of character.
Eventually, they thanked the comedian for his portrayal and for joining them on the show.
While Deeley and Shephard giggled throughout the segment, it’s safe to say plenty of viewers at home didn’t share their joy.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, fans tore into the interview, with one raging: “It was pathetically childish, a stick ITV deliberately used to poke fun at the new incoming President because #thismorning and ITV as a whole are biased and salty. Didn’t get the result they wanted so resorted to an immature attack.”
A second agreed: “#thismorning @itv Wow! Unbelievably disgusting bias! Would you have had a Harris impersonator just standing there waving and smiling maniacally, because they certainly wouldn’t have anything to actually say? I don’t think so!! Shame on you!!”
“#ThisMorning ridiculous and not at all funny,” a third raged during the interview. “Go away nobody is enjoying this rubbish.”
Elsewhere, a fourth hit out: “Normally we scrape the bottom of the barrel daily. But this… This is scraping the bottom of a canal. #ThisMorning.”
And a fifth critiqued: “Is it just me or is today’s #thismorning more painful than usual, if that’s possible.”
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
There are lots of complaints on here about this man but I think he’s a great Trump impersonator & had his voice & mannerisms off to a ‘t’ 😅#ThisMorning #JohnDiDomenico
— Irene Edgar (@EdgarIrene) November 7, 2024
However, amid the outrage were some fans who praised Di Domenico for his impersonation of the President-elect.
Wading into the furore, one viewer penned: “There are lots of complaints on here about this man but I think he’s a great Trump impersonator & had his voice & mannerisms off to a ‘t’ #ThisMorning #JohnDiDomenico.”
And a second similarly praised the comic: “I waited to hear his name – John Di Domenico.
“I thought he was excellent & can’t believe how many people are complaining about the whole segment!! #ThisMorning.” (sic)