Donald Trump has been very good for Alec Baldwin’s acting career. The near-weekly Trump impersonations on “Saturday Night Live” have earned Baldwin his first positive press in years — although he was a no-show last night on the program.
Trump has expressed his dislike of the impression through Twitter, and now another person has said Baldwin should retire the act — this one a little closer to home. Stephen Baldwin, the actor’s brother and a longtime Trump supporter, told the New York Post his brother’s impersonation of the president is “funny, but the timing of it is no longer funny.”
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Stephen added he thinks it is not the time to be mocking America’s new president. This is not the first time, of course, that the Baldwin brothers have had public disputes about their politically differing views.
Another Baldwin brother, Billy, tweeted to Stephen during the presidential election that “if our father were alive today … he’d smack you in the side of the head for supporting Donald Trump.”
Stephen responded by saying he might feel more welcome spending Thanksgiving with the Trump family than his own.
Related: Baldwins in a Tiff Over Tough Over Tough Election
Stephen’s recent critique of his brother’s impression of the president mark the second time he has taken issue with the performance. Just before Election Day, Stephen told CBS News, “What do I think about Alec Baldwin’s impersonation of Donald Trump and ‘SNL’ and everything they’re doing? I don’t want to be a party pooper here, but I don’t think it’s very funny. I don’t think there’s anything funny about this election.”
He added, “I think it’s just getting a little too nasty right now.” Alec Baldwin has continued poking fun at the president through his performance, the last episode only a week before the inauguration. He’s also hinted he may take the impression beyond “Saturday Night Live.”
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Could Stephen Baldwin be right? After a divisive election, is the timing of Baldwin’s performance bad? Only time will tell. Alec Baldwin has no plans on retiring the sketch and seems to have Trump on his mind constantly — he attended a Trump protest on Inauguration Day in New York City along with Michael Moore, and when he stepped up to the podium to make a few brief remarks, he couldn’t resist doing a few lines as “Trump.”
Stephen told the New York Post it’s time to give Donald Trump the “opportunity to succeed and unite the country.”
“Saturday Night Live” certainly gave Obama that chance. In fact, the show’s reluctance to do anything except pat the former president on the back lasted all eight years of the administration. Trump will receive no such treatment.
In the meantime, Stephen, who competed on a season of Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice,” plans to take his brother head-on by steeping himself further in the culture wars. Stephen revealed to the Post that he is building a YouTube channel that will help give right-leaning artists a way to get their voices heard.
“There are so many liberal versions of this started by young people … I think it’s time for one for Republican voices,” Baldwin said.
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