Alec Baldwin endorsed Democratic Senator for Rhode Island Sheldon Whitehouse as vice president Tuesday amid his involuntary manslaughter trial over the fatal "Rust" shooting.
As jury selection for Baldwin's trial was underway Tuesday in a Santa Fe, New Mexico courtroom, a simple statement written in the Apple Notes app was posted to the 66-year-old actor's Instagram account, reading, "Sheldon Whitehouse for Vice President."
Whitehouse has served as the junior United States senator from Rhode Island since 2007. He has not expressed intent to run for vice president in the 2024 election but will seek a fourth term in the Senate.
"Standing up for Rhode Islanders to protect this beautiful state and all of us who live here is the reason Sheldon Whitehouse got into politics," a narrator says in a campaign video released in April.
Baldwin, a known Democrat, previously endorsed Barack Obama in his two presidential campaigns. Starting in 2016, he portrayed former President Donald Trump on "Saturday Night Live," which earned him a Primetime Emmy in 2017. Baldwin continued his portrayal of Trump until he lost the 2020 election.
Trump – who said in November 2021 that Baldwin did a " poor job of imitating me" – also weighed in on the fatal "Rust" shooting.
"He's a troubled guy. There's something wrong with him," Trump said of Baldwin at the time on conservative radio host Chris Stigall's podcast.
"I've watched him for years. He gets into fistfights with reporters. He's a cuckoo bird. He's a nut job. And usually, when there's somebody like that, you know, in my opinion, he had something to do with it [the shooting]," he added.
Trump said that he thought Baldwin should not have pointed the gun at a crew member, loaded or not.
"But if nothing else, how do you take a gun and just, whether it's loaded or not loaded, how do you take a gun, point it at somebody that's not even in the movie and just point it at this person and pull the trigger and now she's dead?" Trump said.
Trump claimed he would have tested the gun by shooting in the air before using it.
"It's weird. Who would take a gun and point it at a cinematographer and pull the trigger, and she's dead?"
Trump continued, "As bad as it may have been kept, meaning you know the people that take care of the equipment and the guns and everything else... But even if it was loaded, and that's a weird thing— maybe he loaded it."
Baldwin could face up to 18 months in prison if convicted of killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Opening arguments are expected to take place on Wednesday.
He appeared in court on Monday and Tuesday, looking somber and avoiding reporters' questions as he entered the courthouse.
Newsweek has contacted reps for Baldwin and Whitehouse for comment.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Erin Keller is a reporter based in Ohio. Her focus is live and trending news, as well as pop culture. ... Read more
