‘Put this burn in the Smithsonian to preserve it for future generations’: Billy Baldwin praises Barack Obama for his wildly unexpected Donald Trump dig

The Democratic National Convention is attracting a level of buzz usually reserved for the Oscars, but the implications are far greater than that time Lady Bird was snubbed for Best Picture. 

So feverish has the reception to the DNC been that it’s drawn commentary from a whole host of starry names, from Mark Hamill to Bette Midler and, more recently, Billy Baldwin. The actor and brother of Alec Baldwin has been using his X page more like a personal diary since the DNC kicked off in Chicago earlier this week, and this time he’s gushing about Barack Obama (he’s only human). 

Taking to X yesterday, Baldwin shared an image of Obama’s speech on the second night of the DNC, in which the former president can be seen making a suggestive hand gesture innuendo (a sentence I’d never thought I’d write) when discussing Donald Trump’s obsession with the size of rally crowds. It was one of multiple jaw-dropping moments levelled by the Obamas, but Baldwin thought it worthy of an even higher accolade. 

“Put this burn in the Smithsonian to preserve it for future generations,” the actor wrote, alongside a fittingly searing fire emoji. I’m not sure exactly what the Smithsonian protocols are, but surely there’s an exception to be made for an ex-president doing hand stuff at a political convention?

Of course, Baldwin wasn’t the only one to revel in Obama’s savagery in abandoning the Democrats’ 2016 call to “go high”, with the social media also promptly set alight following Obama’s cheeky (or more accurately, handsy) wordplay. 

Rivaling the coverage of actual news outlets, Baldwin’s X reaction to Obama’s speech was one of many the actor has shared throughout the convention. “Daaaayum… the Dems are on a roll,” he tweeted on Tuesday, referring to Michelle, Barack, and Doug Emhoff as “Second Dude, MoBama and Barack.” 

Later, Baldwin described Emhoff as “smart, funny, charming, substantive [and] self-deprecating,” and referred to him and Kamala Harris as a “power couple” (watch out Bennifer). In another post, Baldwin reflected on the Democratic Party’s groundbreaking history around presidential candidates, citing Obama as the first-ever Black president, Hilary Clinton as the first woman presidential nominee, and Harris as the first Jamaican and Indian woman vice president. 

“They are the party of… I and Me,” Baldwin wrote. “We are the party of… Us and We.”

The DNC might be offering something of a distraction for Baldwin, given the backlash his brother is receiving after having his manslaughter case dismissed. If anyone can help you get over sibling troubles, it’s the Obamas.