CHONGQING: Outstretching his hands in a signature Donald Trump pose, impersonator Ryan Chen mimics the US president’s voice and gestures with such accuracy that he has become a social media phenomenon with his funny videos.

The 42-year-old from southwest China does not engage in political satire — a minefield in the country that can lead to account suspension — but has amassed millions of followers across Instagram, TikTok, and Chinese platforms.

“Trump is an endless well that never runs dry, because he draws more online traffic than anyone else on the planet,” Chen said in his hometown of Chongqing, which itself has gone viral over its labyrinthine cityscape and spicy food.

During his videos, which are in English with Chinese subtitles, Chen lightheartedly presents Chinese cuisine, customs, cultural differences, jokes with foreigners, and dances to Village People’s YMCA, one of Trump’s trademark stage songs.

And all his clips are peppered with Trump’s unmistakable mannerisms and buzzwords like “tremendous” and “amazing”. “I’m not into politics, but I think he is a very good entertainer,” said Chen of the American president, whom he followed when Trump hosted the reality TV show The Apprentice.

“If I imitate him, it’s not to make fun of him. It’s to get attention,” he said in a white cowboy hat.

“With that attention, I can boost my career, as well as promote China and my hometown.”

Chen stumbled across his online fame by chance, only taking off in 2025 with Trump’s return to the White House.

The fan of Friends and The Big Bang Theory — who had never visited the United States before this year — started making online videos to teach English as a “back-up plan” from his job in architecture, a sector hit hard by the property crisis in China.

Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2026