Alec Baldwin is reportedly slated to perform as a keynote speaker at the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s inaugural Eleanor Roosevelt Dinner to help them push their candidates ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.
The actor, most recently known for lampooning President Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live, will headline the fundraising dinner on October 14, according to The Hill newspaper.
“With 69 days until the election, I have dedicated my efforts to helping the Democratic Party win across the country,” Baldwin said in a statement. “I’m excited to speak at the Eleanor Roosevelt Dinner knowing that New Hampshire has been on the frontlines of electing strong Democratic candidates to office.”
The newly re-named event recently sparked controversy by dropping both Bill Clinton’s and John F. Kennedy’s names over #MeToo movement concerns.
In 2016 and 2017, the Party’s fall gala was called the “Kennedy-Clinton Dinner.” But this year the event’s name was changed to the “Eleanor Roosevelt Dinner” due the notorious mistreatment of women perpetrated by both Clinton and Kennedy. And in the day of the #MeToo movement, the connection to the two presidents was deemed problematic.
This is not the first time that the Democratic Party’s annual dinner was renamed. Before 2016 it was called the “Jefferson-Jackson Dinner,” but that name was dropped in 2015 over complaints that those two presidents were slaveholders.
Baldwin’s speaking slot at the political dinner should come as no surprise. The 60-year-old Mission Impossible actor has often commented on how he might like to run for office someday. This latest speaking engagement prompted the Washington Post’s Dave Weigel to speculate about Baldwin’s possible political plans.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.