Inside the Beltway: Alec Baldwin wants to interview President Trump

NEWS AND OPINION:

Actor, political activist and President Trump impersonator Alec Baldwin has a prime time talk show debuting at 10 p.m. Sunday EDT on ABC — and if the host has his way, a future guest just might be the president. Yes, well. Just imagine that cultural moment.

“’The Alec Baldwin Show’ gives viewers a front-row seat to in-depth, intimate and candid one-on-one conversations as Alec, a prolific entertainer and quick-witted personality, sits down with some of the most compelling celebrities and cultural icons of our time. Alec’s distinctive interview style and extraordinary ability to draw out never-before-told personal stories, coupled with a newsworthy roster of guests, make for a captivating hour of television each week,” explains ABC.

Actors Robert De Niro and Taraji P. Henson are the first guests, to be followed a week later by entrepreneur Kim Kardashian West, wife of rap star and music producer Kanye West, currently under fire in celebrity circles for his unapologetic support of Mr. Trump.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., RuPaul, Kerry Washington, former president of Planned Parenthood Cecile Richards, Jeff Bridges, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, feminist lawyer Gloria Allred, and Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg are among those on the future guest roster. Political combat appears to be on Mr. Baldwin’s mind, though.

“With a new ABC talk show and his return to ’Saturday Night Live,’ the unfiltered star is mobilizing against the GOP,” writes Hollywood Reporter analyst Lacey Rose, who also noted that Mr. Baldwin hosted an MSNBC talk show in 2013 which was canceled after five episodes after the actor deployed a “homophobic slur” during a street confrontation with a photographer.

Mr. Baldwin revealed to the industry source that he can imagine himself interviewing Mr. Trump, and even has mulled over questions.

“With all the comedy aside, what I want to say to him is ’what is your impression of what the job of the president is now compared to what you thought of it when you started?’” Mr. Baldwin said, adding a series of Trump-like embellishments.

Mr. Baldwin introduced his Trump character during the 2016 election. The portrayal has roots in an iconic 1946 film, with a character once voted among the “greatest villains in film history” by the American Film Institute. So. What about that impersonation?

“It’s cartoonish. All I wanted my Trump to be is mean-spirited and miserable, like Mr. Potter from ’It’s a Wonderful Life.’ But then I’ll say, ’Oh, I don’t want to do it anymore,’ and people will go, ’Don’t you dare give that up, we need you.’ Like I’ve gotten people through something in our nation’s history,” Mr. Baldwin told Ms. Rose.

’THE POLITICS OF RESULTS’

The arguments over #MeToo, which emerged during the nomination of Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, are here to stay.

The Democratic Party “won’t let the Kavanaugh debate die,” says Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel.

“This is what Democrats do. They try and divide our country. They try and incite anger. That is just shameful to say Republicans do not care about women. I am a woman. I am a mother of a 15-year-old daughter. So, please, don’t go there. But that is where the Democrats are going. It is destroy, it’s distract, it’s divide our nation — let’s make women so angry,” she told Fox News.

“Women are smarter than that. We are delivering results right now at the Republican Party from our president: 3.7 percent unemployment, the lowest in history for African-American and Hispanics, a 65-year low for women. We are a party that is making lives better for families across this country. So Democrats will continue the politics of destruction, and we are going to continue the politics of results,” Mrs. McDaniel advised.

RED STATE REALITY

“For years, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University has ranked states based on five measures of their financial condition: cash solvency, budget solvency, the ability to meet long-term spending commitments, state spending and taxes as a share of personal income, and unfunded pension liabilities and debt,” says an Investors Business Daily editorial, which notes that the judgments are all based on official state annual financial and actuarial reports.

“For 2016, the latest year for which data are available, the top five most fiscally sound states were, in order: Nebraska, South Dakota, Tennessee, Florida and Oklahoma. The five worst states, starting at the bottom: Illinois, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Kentucky. Notice anything similar in these groupings? We did. All but one of the top five are solidly Republican states. All but one of the bottom five are solidly Democratic,” the editorial continues.

“This isn’t some one-year aberration, either. For the first time this year, Mercatus produced rankings from 2006 through 2016. What does that show? Of the 10 states that show up most frequently at the bottom of the list since 2006, nine are solid blue states. Of the 10 states with consistently the best record, all but one are solidly red states.”

THE ’CANNABIS CAUCUS’

The National Cannabis Industry Associations, quarterly “Cannabis Caucus” gets underway Thursday in Santa Monica, California. And as Inside the Beltway has noted in the past, the old hippies of yore would be amazed that marijuana is now an “industry,” complete with PR, marketing, agenda and sponsors.

The association describes the caucus itself as “the premier [business-to-business] event series for making meaningful connections with the industry’s leading executives and policymakers while getting the tools you need to advance the cannabis industry nationally. They are hosted in the cannabis industry’s eight most active regions, on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the first month of each quarter.”

POLL DU JOUR

• 57 percent of U.S. voters are satisfied with their personal economic situation; 67 percent of Republicans, 57 percent of independents and 48 percent of Democrats agree.

• 49 percent overall say the economy in general is excellent or good; 67 percent of Republicans, 46 percent of independents and 34 percent of Democrats agree.

• 50 percent overall say President Trump is “most responsible” for the current state of the economy; 66 percent of Republicans, 44 percent of independents and 38 percent of Democrats agree.

• 29 percent overall say former President Barack Obama is responsible for the current state of the economy; 15 percent of Republicans, 28 percent of independents and 43 percent of Democrats agree.

• 21 percent overall don’t know who is responsible; 19 percent of Republicans, 28 percent of independents and 19 percent of Democrats agree.

Source: A Politico/Morning Consult poll of 2,199 registered U.S. voters conducted on Oct. 7.

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