Actor Alec Baldwin, who impersonates President Donald Trump regularly on Saturday Night Live, spoke to a large crowd of Iowa Democrats Monday night. He kicked off his remarks with an 11 minute comedy routine that included his President Trump impression, before focusing on politics.
“It’s not enough to slap a new label on our brand that says new and improved,” Baldwin told the crowd. “We’ve got to back that up.”
Baldwin spent twice as much time giving a political call-to-action.
“Let’s send Trump to retire in Moscow where he belongs,” Baldwin says. “We can win in 2018. We can win in 2020, but it’s going to take each and every one of us to do that.”
Iowa Democratic Party Chair Troy Price opened the night saying the party needs to do more than just talk about their opponents.
“We have to talk about our shared values and how the Democratic Party fights for those values,” Price says. “Here’s a little secret: they’re the same values that unite nearly all Iowans.”
The party’s seven candidates for governor spoke prior to Baldwin’s keynote speech. Des Moines Democratic State Senator Nate Boulton referred to a recent costly sexual harassment settlement for Senate Republicans during his remarks, saying Democrats need to stand up to the Republican statehouse agenda.
“When Senate Republicans devalue and mistreat women in our own state capitol and cost taxpayers $1.7 million, we fight back,” Boulton says. “Not just making sure workplaces are safe for women, but making sure Iowa’s women get equal pay for equal work.”
Republicans control the legislature and governor’s office, as well as three of the state’s four congressional districts
The other candidates running for the Democratic nomination for governor are former Iowa City mayor Ross Wilburn, retired businessman Fred Hubbell, former Governor Vilsack chief of staff John Norris, nurse and union leader Cathy Glasson, former Democratic Party Chair Andy McGuire and former Des Moines School Board Member John Neiderbach.
