When his new talk show premieres Sunday night, don't expect Alec Baldwin to get overly political. The 60-year old actor plans to leave that on the set of "Saturday Night Live" with his occasional impersonations of President Donald Trump.
"The Trump thing is just silly. Nothing we do on 'SNL' about Trump is going to change anybody's mind about anything," Baldwin said. "There are people in Washington going, 'That Alec Baldwin, I hate him'... and there are others that say, 'Thank you, for helping us process this.'"
That's why he doesn't see an upside to being overly political on the new "The Alec Baldwin Show" on ABC at 10 p.m. The show features candid one-on-one conversations with celebrities and cultural icons.
This image released by ABC shows host Alec Baldwin, right, speaking with TV personality Kim Kardashian West during an appearance on "The Alec Baldwin Show," which premiers Sunday, Oct. 14 on ABC. (Heidi GutmanABC via AP)
"If you have a very muscular political opinion, it has its consequences. I'm not afraid of that, and thankfully I have other venues to exercise that. But this is not about that at all," Baldwin said.
His guests are another story. The talk show debuts with the politically outspoken Robert De Niro this Sunday. The hour show will feature two interviews, with Taraji P. Henson as the other guest.
Baldwin plans to pick up where "Here's the Thing" — his podcast for WNYC — left off, employing his unfiltered, provocative interview style. Baldwin said the long-form interview format allows him to take a "deep dive" into the issues with each subject. Plus, staying in one place works great for his family life.
"It became harder and harder as I got older and traveling, I've got little kids and I don't want to travel," Baldwin said.
He also wanted to bring a fresh perspective to the talk-show format after being on the other side of couch for so long. While promoting different projects along the way, Baldwin recalled the limitations of being interviewed at junkets and talk-show spots. It's something he calls short and "very choreographed."
"There wasn't a spontaneous breath to draw. They've worked out all the questions in advance. What you say is kind of a little script that they've drafted," Baldwin said.
But he also found it hard to trust the interviewer in such a short time, so he understands the reasons many public figures need to "play it safe."
"Now you can say something on a talk show and your career could be over. Or you can have real damage done. There's a caution people have to exercise now. You'd be naive not to," Baldwin said. With the longer format, he feels the subjects are more apt to engage in conversation.
Baldwin found himself on the wrong side of the story after a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter, saying that, "Ever since I played Trump, black people love me." He faced a social media backlash.
Executive Producer Jason Schrift realizes that Baldwin is a polarizing entertainer, but also pointed out that some viewers who don't agree with Baldwin will also tune in, much like Howard Stern found his rating were higher thanks to people who didn't like him.
But Schrift also feels that some of Baldwin's perspectives can appeal to his detractors too.
"Even the right-wing people will be surprised by some of his conservative opinions about some things," Schrift said.
Among the guests sitting down with Baldwin this season are Kim Kardashian, RuPaul, Kerry Washington, Jeff Bridges, Sarah Jessica Parker, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, Mike Myers, Regina King, Gloria Allred, Ricky Gervais and Norway Prime Minister Erna Solberg.
Online: https://abc.go.com/shows/the-alec-baldwin-show
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it would send more than $1 billion in additional arms and ammunition to Israel, three congressional aides said Tuesday. But it was not immediately known how soon the weapons would be delivered.
It's the first arms shipment to Israel to be revealed since the administration put another arms transfer, consisting of 3,500 bombs of up to 2,000 pounds each, on hold this month. The Biden administration, citing concern for civilian casualties in Gaza, has said it paused that bomb transfer to keep Israel from using those particular munitions in its offensive in the crowded southern Gaza city of Rafah.
The package disclosed Tuesday includes about $700 million for tank ammunition, $500 million in tactical vehicles and $60 million in mortar rounds, the congressional aides said. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an arms transfer that has not yet been made public.
There was no immediate indication when the arms would be sent. Two congressional aides said the shipment is not part of the long-delayed foreign aid package that Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed last month. It wasn’t known if the shipment was the latest tranche from an existing arms sale or something new.
The Biden administration has come under criticism from both sides of the political spectrum over its military support for Israel's now seven-month-old war against Hamas in Gaza — at a time when Biden is battling for reelection against former President Donald Trump.
Some of Biden's fellow Democrats have pushed him to limit transfers of offensive weapons to Israel to pressure the U.S. ally to do more to protect Palestinian civilians. Protests on college campuses around the U.S. have driven home the message this spring.
Republican lawmakers have seized on the administration's pause on the bomb transfers, saying any lessening of U.S. support for Israel — its closest ally in the Middle East — weakens that country as it fights Hamas and other Iran-backed groups. In the House, they are planning to advance a bill this week to mandate the delivery of offensive weaponry for Israel.
Despite the onetime suspension of a bomb shipment, Biden and administration officials have made clear they will continue other weapons deliveries and overall military support to Israel, which is the largest recipient of U.S. military aid.
Biden will see to it that “Israel has all of the military means it needs to defend itself against all of its enemies, including Hamas,” national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday. “For him, this is very straightforward: He’s going to continue to provide Israel with all of capabilities it needs, but he does not want certain categories of American weapons used in a particular type of operation in a particular place. And again, he has been clear and consistent with that.”
The Wall Street Journal first reported the plans for the $1 billion weapons package to Israel.
In response to House Republicans' plan to move forward with a bill to mandate the delivery of offensive weapons for Israel, the White House said Tuesday that Biden would veto the bill if it were to pass Congress.
The bill has practically no chance in the Democratic-controlled Senate. But House Democrats are somewhat divided on the issue, and roughly two dozen have signed onto a letter to the Biden administration saying they were “deeply concerned about the message” sent by pausing the bomb shipment.
One of the letter’s signers, New York Rep. Ritchie Torres, said he would likely vote for the bill, despite the White House’s opposition.
“I have a general rule of supporting pro-Israel legislation unless it includes a poison pill — like cuts to domestic policy,” he said.
In addition to the written veto threat, the White House has been in touch with various lawmakers and congressional aides about the legislation, according to an administration official.
“We strongly, strongly oppose attempts to constrain the President’s ability to deploy U.S. security assistance consistent with U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said this week, adding that the administration plans to spend “every last cent” appropriated by Congress in the national security supplemental package that was signed into law by Biden last month.
Associated Press writers Stephen Groves, Lisa Mascaro and Aamer Madhani contributed.
President Joe Biden arrives to speak in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, May 14, 2024, announcing plans to impose major new tariffs on electric vehicles, semiconductors, solar equipment and medical supplies imported from China. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
President Joe Biden speaks at the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies' 30th annual gala, Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
