Trump is almost gone but we've found maybe the best, and most unusual, impression of him

    
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Trump is almost gone but we've found maybe the best, and most unusual, impression of him

via James Austin Johnson / Instagram

In two months, Donald Trump will be out of the White House but, at the last minute, it looks like we may have found the best, if not the most unusual, impression of him out there.

Stand-up comedian James Austin Johnson has been impersonating the president since he was elected, but it wasn't until recently he figured out the right approach. Trump is such an over-the-top character in real life that he's tough to spoof.

"When he first got elected and I was playing with the voice in 2016, 2017, it would show my sort of left-wing anger a lot. I would be like, 'We're going to kill everybody. We're blowing up everybody's houses I don't like,'" Johnson told Vanity Fair. "I'd be more openly racist and homophobic as Trump."

However, that didn't seem to connect with audiences.

Johnson was raised as a conservative Christian in Tennessee, so he took his intimate knowledge of Trump supporters and used that to help shape his impersonation.

"Trump manages to uncomplicate the world for a lot of people. They don't give a shit about, he fucks porn stars and he fucks around on his wife. They don't care about any of his earthly sins," he told Discourse Blog.

"He repeats their own values back to them. And all they want to see is their values reflected in the world," Johnson continued. "The fact that we don't all see Trump in the same light could be a reason for why a lot of the Trump comedy doesn't hit."

So instead, he focused on Trump the "bullshitter."

"Whenever I ramble in that Trump voice, I'm hoping to just sort of subtly illustrate, like, this guy just has no idea what he's talking about," Johnson said. "He just talks out of his ass and he's pure Americana. He is confidence without substance. He gives voice to that angry confidence and he doesn't have to be right."

Johnson went viral for a lo-fi video he did of Trump discussing the music and career of "Weird Al" Yankovic. The impression is great because he masterfully recreates Trump's rambling style while speaking passionately about something pretty pointless.

Which is a lot of what Trump does at his rallies.

Another popular video is Trump discussing Scooby-Doo.

"Scooby-Doo, they call him Scooby-Doo. They call the show Scooby-Doo. But Scooby doesn't do anything. Scooby is not involved," Johnson, as Trump, said in an August video. "Half the time Scooby is not involved. He's just a bystander. It's one of the worst deals we've ever had.

"Scooby, frankly, gets much too much attention, money," Johnson said later in the video. "We're giving way too much attention to Mr. Scooby."

While a lot of comedians focus on the '80s womanizing version of Trump, Johnson sees him as an old many with terrible sinuses.

"I tend to hover around Rally Trump, and there's absolutely no rehearsal there. I pick a pop-culture topic, usually something that is an actual opinion I actually hold," he said.

Johnson, an avid gamer, also did a hilarious video as Trump conflating his election day performance with Pokemon.

Johnson believes the key to doing Trump is to be as unrehearsed as the president. "I think I might have written out a couple of things a couple of times, and I just noticed that those wouldn't take off online and it was missing some mojo of what makes Trump Trump," he said.

"Trump is not written out, and he's not rehearsed," he said.

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8 sustainable products that make great gifts

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Shopping sustainably is increasingly important given the severity of the climate crisis, but sometimes it's hard to know where to turn. Thankfully, Amazon is making it a little easier to browse thousands of products that have one or more of 19 sustainability certifications that help preserve the natural world.

The online retailer recently announced Climate Pledge Friendly, a program to make it easier for customers to discover and shop for more sustainable products. To determine the sustainability of a product, the program partnered with third-party certifications, including governmental agencies, nonprofits, and independent labs.

With a selection of items spanning grocery, household, fashion, beauty, and personal electronics, you'll be able to shop more sustainably not just for the holiday season, but throughout the year for your essentials, as well.

You can browse all of the Climate Pledge Friendly products here, labeled with an icon and which certification(s) they meet. To get you on your way to shopping more sustainably, we've rounded up eight of our favorite Climate Pledge Friendly-products that will make great gifts all year long.

Amazon

Jack Wolfskin Women's North York Coat

Give the gift of warmth and style with this coat, available in a variety of colors. Sustainability is built into all Jack Wolfskin products and each item comes with a code that lets you trace back to its origins and understand how it was made.

Bluesign: Bluesign products are responsibly manufactured by using safer chemicals and fewer resources, including less energy, in production.

Amazon

Amazon All-new Echo Dot (4th Gen)

For the tech-obsessed. This Alexa smart speaker, which comes in a sleek, compact design, lets you voice control your entertainment and your smart home as well as connect with others.

Reducing CO2: Products with this certification reduce their carbon footprint year after year. Certified by the Carbon Trust.

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Burt's Bees Family Jammies Matching Holiday Organic Cotton Pajamas

Get into the holiday spirit with these fun matching PJs for the whole family. Perfect for pictures that even Fido can get in on.

Global Organic Textile Standard: This certifies each step of the organic textile supply chain against strict ecological and social standards. Each product with this certification contains 95%-100% organic content.

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Naturistick 5-Pack Lip Balm Gift Set

With 100% natural ingredients that are gentle on ultra-sensitive lips, this gift is a great gift for the whole family.

Compact by Design (Certified by Amazon): Products with this certification are packaged without excess air and water, which reduces the carbon footprint of shipping and packaging.

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Arus Women's GOTS Certified Organic Cotton Hooded Full Length Turkish Bathrobe

For those who love to lounge around, this full-length organic cotton bathrobe is the way to go. Available in five different colors, it has comfortable cuffed sleeves, a hood, pockets, and adjustable belt.

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L'Occitane Extra-Gentle Vegetable Based Soap

This luxe soap, made with moisturizing shea butter and scented with verbena, is perfect for the self-care obsessed.

Compact by Design (Certified by Amazon): Products with this certification are packaged without excess air and water, which reduces the carbon footprint of shipping and packaging.

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Goodthreads Men's Sweater-Knit Fleece Long-Sleeve Bomber

For the fashionable men in your life, this fashion-forward knit bomber is an excellent choice. The sweater material keeps it cozy and warm, while the bomber jacket-cut, zip front, and rib-trim neck make it look elevated.

Recycled Claim Standard 100: Products with this certification use materials made from at least 95% recycled content.

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All-new Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote

Make it even easier to access your favorite movies and shows this holiday season. The new Fire TV Stick lets you use your voice to search across apps. Plus it controls the power and volume on your TV, so you'll never need to leave the couch! Except for snacks.

Reducing CO2: Products with this certification reduce their carbon footprint year after year. Certified by the Carbon Trust.

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Jill Biden brought cookies to National Guard troops to thank them for keeping her family safe

Amy Siskind/Twitter

Even as millions of Americans celebrated the inauguration of President Joe Biden this week, the nation also mourned the fact that, for the first time in modern history, the United States did not have a peaceful transition of power.

With the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, when pro-Trump insurrectionists attempted to stop the constitutional process of counting electoral votes and where terrorists threatened to kill lawmakers and the vice president for not keeping Trump in power, our long and proud tradition was broken. And although presidential power was ultimately transferred without incident on January 20, the presence of 20,000 National Guard troops around the Capitol reminded us of the threat that still lingers.

First Lady Jill Biden showed up today with cookies in hand for a group of National Guard troops at the Capitol to thank them for keeping her family safe. The homemade chocolate chip cookies were a small token of appreciation, but one that came from the heart of a mother whose son had served as well.

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Meet the people infusing their communities with love and support when it’s needed most

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If the past year has taught us nothing else, it's that sending love out into the world through selfless acts of kindness can have a positive ripple effect on people and communities. People all over the United States seemed to have gotten the message — 71% of those surveyed by the World Giving Index helped a stranger in need in 2020. A nonprofit survey found 90% helped others by running errands, calling, texting and sending care packages. Many people needed a boost last year in one way or another and obliging good neighbors heeded the call over and over again — and continue to make a positive impact through their actions in this new year.

Upworthy and P&G Good Everyday wanted to help keep kindness going strong, so they partnered up to create the Lead with Love Fund. The fund awards do-gooders in communities around the country with grants to help them continue on with their unique missions. Hundreds of nominations came pouring in and five winners were selected based on three criteria: the impact of action, uniqueness, and "Upworthy-ness" of their story.

Here's a look at the five winners:

Edith Ornelas, co-creator of Mariposas Collective in Memphis, Tenn.

Edith Ornelas has a deep-rooted connection to the asylum-seeking immigrant families she brings food and supplies to families in Memphis, Tenn. She was born in Jalisco, Mexico, and immigrated to the United States when she was 7 years old with her parents and sister. Edith grew up in Chicago, then moved to Memphis in 2016, where she quickly realized how few community programs existed for immigrants. Two years later, she helped create Mariposas Collective, which initially aimed to help families who had just been released from detention centers and were seeking asylum. The collective started out small but has since grown to approximately 400 volunteers.