North Korean leader Kim Jong Un impersonator Howard X and US President Donald Trump impersonator Russel White pose in Hanoi on Friday. Photo: AFP

Police held two men impersonating Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump for questioning after they appeared in Hanoi, where the North Korean and American leaders plan to meet next week for a second summit.

Kim lookalike Howard X and Trump impersonator Russell White staged a “meeting” in downtown Hanoi Friday ahead of a second summit between the real Trump and Kim on February 27-28 in the Vietnamese capital.

About 10 police officers descended on a local TV station where they were giving an interview and told them they would be deported if they continued to make media appearances.

“They basically said stop doing the impersonation or we will kick you out of the country,” Howard X told AFP after he was released from questioning and had returned to his hotel, where he believed plainclothes police were watching him.

The police told the pair they could only travel around the city with an approved itinerary and travel guide.

Howard X, a Hong Kong resident, insisted he was in Vietnam legally and would only leave if he was forced to do so.

The pair appeared with black-clad security guards at Hanoi’s Metropole hotel and Opera House earlier in the day, where they were swarmed by journalists.

Speaking in character, Trump impersonator White said they came with the intention of scaling down North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.

“We’re working toward peace. Through negotiations, with dialogue, we want to help North Korea of course,” he said, wearing heavy bronzer and sporting freshly gelled hair.

Full-time Kim impersonator Howard X quipped that his colleague might have to ignore the Hermit Kingdom’s nuclear ambitions in order to achieve rapprochement.

“Hopefully he can overlook all my nuclear missiles and lift the sanctions,” said Howard X, who also visited Singapore ahead of the leaders’ summit last year.

Before the police arrived, the men said they planned to visit a massage parlor, play a round of golf and maybe sample some of Hanoi’s famous cuisine.

But they may not be permitted to do so by the one-party communist state’s authorities, who aim to pull off next week’s high-profile summit without attracting too much negative attention.

Vietnam’s hardline government does not tolerate spontaneous public gatherings of any kind, and state security people were closely monitoring the pair during their afternoon shenanigans.

Howard X also ran into security problems last June ahead of the first Trump-Kim meeting in Singapore, when he was held at the airport but was eventually allowed into the city-state on the condition that he steer clear of the summit venue.

The pair say they are looking for a few more impersonators to complete their band of “tyrants,” calling for any lookalikes of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping or Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to contact them to arrange an audition.

– with reporting by Agence France-Presse

Join the Conversation

42 Comments

  1. It is truly a great and helpful piece of info. I’m satisfied that you just shared this helpful info with us. Please keep us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.

  2. That is really interesting, You are an excessively professional blogger.
    I have joined your feed and stay up for looking for more of
    your magnificent post. Additionally, I’ve shared your web site in my social networks

  3. After looking at a number of the blog articles on your web
    page, I honestly appreciate your technique of writing a blog.
    I bookmarked it to my bookmark webpage list and will be checking back in the near future.
    Take a look at my web site as well and let me know how you feel.

  4. As I web site possessor I believe the content material here is rattling fantastic , appreciate it for your efforts. You should keep it up forever! Good Luck.

  5. Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wished to
    say that I have really enjoyed surfing around your weblog posts.
    After all I will be subscribing in your feed and I am hoping you write again very soon!

  6. Ahaa, its nice discussion concerning this paragraph here at this website, I have read all that, so at this time
    me also commenting at this place.

  7. When some one searches for his essential thing, thus he/she needs to be available that
    in detail, therefore that thing is maintained over here.

  8. Thank you for the good writeup. It in fact was a amusement account it.
    Look advanced to far added agreeable from you! However, how could we
    communicate?

  9. You made some respectable factors there. I seemed on the internet for the difficulty and located most people will go together with together with your website.

  10. I needed to say thanks a lot just as before wrist watches dazzling web-site you can have written reading this. It will be jam-packed with smart ideas if you’re contemplating the following make any difference, mainly this type of really quite article. You’re in fact every single one fully fantastic a great bonus accommodating coming from all blog writers for a few incontrovertible fact result your blog site comments is a fantastic pleasure when camping. Also good job on a substantial current! Serta and have hype in your inspirations in doing what came across get in most calendar months. Our new home listing should be a extended distance particularly long together with thoughts rrs going to be offer ideal purposes.

  11. Undeniably believe that that you said. Your favorite reason appeared to be on the internet the simplest thing to have in mind of.

    I say to you, I certainly get annoyed even as other people consider issues that
    they plainly don’t recognize about. You controlled to hit the
    nail upon the highest and also defined out the whole thing with no need
    side effect , other folks can take a signal. Will probably
    be again to get more. Thank you

  12. What i do not understood is in truth how you are not really much more
    smartly-appreciated than you might be right now.
    You’re so intelligent. You understand thus considerably relating to this subject, made me in my view believe it from
    a lot of varied angles. Its like men and women don’t seem
    to be involved until it is one thing to do with Girl gaga!
    Your personal stuffs excellent. All the time care for
    it up!

  13. Hello! This is kind of off topic but I need some help from an established blog. Is it very hard to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty fast. I’m thinking about creating my own but I’m not sure where to begin. Do you have any points or suggestions? With thanks

  14. When I originally left a comment I appear to have clicked on the -Notify me
    when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on every time a comment is added
    I receive 4 emails with the exact same comment.
    Is there a means you can remove me from that service?
    Kudos! plenty of fish natalielise

  15. I do trust all the concepts you have presented to your post.
    They’re very convincing and will certainly work. Still, the posts are
    too quick for novices. Could you please extend them a bit from subsequent time?
    Thanks for the post.

  16. I am extremely inspired with your writing skills as smartly as with the format
    in your weblog. Is this a paid theme or did you modify it yourself?
    Either way stay up the excellent high quality writing, it’s uncommon to peer a great weblog like this one today..

  17. May I simply just say what a relief to uncover someone that really understands what they are talking about
    on the internet. You actually understand how to bring an issue to light and make it important.
    A lot more people need to check this out and understand this side of
    your story. I was surprised that you aren’t more popular given that you certainly possess the gift.

  18. Right here is the perfect web site for anybody who hopes to find out about this topic.

    You know a whole lot its almost hard to argue with you (not that I actually would want to…HaHa).
    You definitely put a brand new spin on a topic
    that’s been written about for ages. Great stuff, just
    wonderful!

  19. Hey! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout
    out and tell you I genuinely enjoy reading through your articles.
    Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that go
    over the same topics? Thanks a lot!

  20. We absolutely love your blog and find many of your post’s to be what precisely I’m looking for. Do you offer guest writers to write content for yourself? I wouldn’t mind publishing a post or elaborating on a few of the subjects you write concerning here. Again, awesome website!

  21. Hello, i read your blog from time to time and i own a similar one and i was just wondering if you get a lot of spam remarks? If so how do you reduce it, any plugin or anything you can recommend? I get so much lately it’s driving me mad so any support is very much appreciated.

  22. You really make it appear so easy together with your presentation however I to find this matter to be really one thing that I believe I’d by no means understand. It sort of feels too complex and very extensive for me. I’m taking a look ahead in your subsequent publish, I will try to get the hang of it!

  23. Hello, I do believe your blog could be having internet browser compatibility issues. When I take a look at your site in Safari, it looks fine however, when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping issues. I simply wanted to provide you with a quick heads up! Apart from that, great site!

  24. You need to select the greatest variety of campers who definitely are sharing the tent.
    For example a standard 4 watt incandescent night light or possibly a standard LED nightlight still consumes 30-40 ma
    @120v which equals 3-4 watts. What I see at the paint and
    wallpaper, pool area and office supply stores are flys that only make it half way down the side of the tent at best, or even silly little things that appear
    to be just like a kid’s umbrella perched on the peak in the dome.

  25. At this time it sounds like Drupal is the top blogging platform available right now.
    (from what I’ve read) Is that what you’re using on your blog?

  26. Thank you, I’ve recently been looking for info about this subject for ages and yours is the greatest I have discovered so far. But, what about the bottom line? Are you sure about the source?

Leave a comment