Alec Baldwin has called President-elect Donald Trump “the most reviled candidate in our history” in a series of tweets Thursday, adding that Jan. 20 is the “beginning of the countdown” to when Trump “will be gone.”
1-We are not far from the day when the most reviled candidate in our history will become President. Unwanted by a significant majority of
— AlecBaldwin(HABF) (@AlecBaldwin) December 23, 2016
2- of voters. A man who has projected little other than an empty braggadocio and synthetic rhetoric about both his qualifications and plans
— AlecBaldwin(HABF) (@AlecBaldwin) December 23, 2016
3- but Inauguration Day means the beginning of the countdown to when he will be gone. And he will be gone.
January 20. The countdown begins.— AlecBaldwin(HABF) (@AlecBaldwin) December 23, 2016
Baldwin has been impersonating Trump on “Saturday Night Live” for months now, much to the dismay of the president-elect, and is a vocal detractor of Trump, having publicly supported Hillary Clinton in the run-up to the Nov. 8 election.
Inauguration Day has been a hot topic in recent weeks. As TheWrap first reported, Trump’s team is struggling to book A-list performers for his inaugural festivities, with two talent bookers saying they were offered ambassadorships if they could deliver marquee names. The inauguration team has its sights set on top-tier talents like Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars, Katy Perry and Aretha Franklin, and are willing to pay steep fees for the performers.
A meeting between Trump and Kanye West spurred speculation that the the troubled rapper might perform. Also last week, news broke that Trump’s team had managed to enlist 16-year-old former “America’s Got Talent” star Jackie Evancho to sing the national anthem. Trump’s team has also booked the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Radio City Rockettes.
Several high-caliber performers have already publicly rejected requests to take part in the Jan. 20 festivities, including Celine Dion, Garth Brooks, Elton John and operatic singer Andrea Bocelli.
As TheWrap reported on Wednesday, Trump is so displeased with his team’s inability to lock in A-list talent that he’s ordered a “Hail Mary” shakeup of his recruiters to try to book performers, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Mark Burnett, who produces “Celebrity Apprentice” with Trump and has been overseeing entertainment for inauguration festivities, has brought in talent recruiter Suzanne Bender, a former “Dancing With the Stars” and “American Idol” booker, to end an effective freeze-out by Hollywood, the insider said.
Trump’s team denied it’s having any issues booking top artists.