In the satirical news programme, The President Show, Anthony Atamanuik impersonates United States President Donald Trump with lethal accuracy, an impression he has been perfecting since the 2016 campaign.

Speaking to The Straits Times in Los Angeles last year, the 43-year-old American comic says his inspiration for the series - which airs on Tuesdays at 10.55pm on Comedy Central Asia (Singtel TV Channel 324 and StarHub TV Channel 516) - was The Great Dictator, Charlie Chaplin's iconic 1940 satire of German leader Adolf Hitler.

"Because it pi***d Hitler off deeply. He was a movie buff, which dictators always weirdly are, right? Like (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Un.

"It bothered Hitler to no small degree because not only was he a fan of Chaplin, but (Chaplin) also took (Hitler's) image and re-purposed it."

But is Atamanuik preaching to the choir or is he changing minds?

"On Twitter, from time to time, I get notes from people who'll say things like, 'I'm a Trump supporter, but I enjoy the show - he is a clown. I don't agree with you, but I agree that this is funny.' That kind of thing.

"I don't think that necessarily means that they are shifting (their opinion). But maybe, over time, drip, drip, drip, they might think twice. They might just say, 'I'm going to do the same thing I did in 2016 and vote for the other guy.'"

Atamanuik is doing more than just an impersonation, though. The show is deeply satirical and this springs in part from his close observation of American politics, which has given some of his jokes a rather prescient quality.

"We had a scene about Trump's Russian ties, in which there was a bag of neckties and Trump was like, 'Cover up my Russian ties.' Three days later, they released (information) about his holdings in Russia and one of them was a necktie company."

He says: "I don't know if (Trump) is watching (our show), but we're in his brain."

Atamanuik's memorable impersonation of Mr Trump comes from the comic's background and his ability to find empathy for the man.

He grew up around "working-class guys" who worked for his grandfather's paint company in Boston.

"I remember going and hanging out with them in the coffee shop and you'd hear all these guys sort of brag and talk big.

"There's an element of my personality just from living in New York that is in alignment with his - in the sense of probably over-talking and jumping from idea to idea without paying attention. I get distracted easily," says Atamanuik, who is married to writer Flossie Arend.

He adds that his job as an actor is to find the parts of himself which connect to the character.

"Then, the other half - which is the hardest one and a major tenet of almost every religion - is empathy with the person.

"So, I had to find my empathy for him, which is I think he's someone who probably has low self-esteem and he craves love. He craves attention."

It is with this in mind that the comedian is able to channel Mr Trump using his face, voice and body.

"I like to build the impression from the inside out. If I can build in a model where I can think in his pattern and his rhythm, then the voice and the body come with that."

• The President Show airs on Tuesdays at 10.55pm on Comedy Central Asia (Singtel TV Channel 324, StarHub TV Channel 516).