President Donald Trump took the time to call Roseanne Barr and congratulate her for the extremely high ratings garnered by the revival of her classic sitcom "Roseanne" — showing America just what the president's priorities are.
The phone call was placed after Trump heard about the stellar ratings received by the show, which far outpaced projections by garnering 18.2 million total viewers, according to Deadline. The show did particularly well in the Midwest. Tulsa, Oklahoma had the most viewers in any metropolitan area — the heart of Trump country. It was helped by the fact that the protagonist, Roseanne Conner, was depicted as a Trump supporter, a choice that mirrored the actress' own real-life support for the president.
Roseanne herself confirmed on Twitter Thursday morning that Trump had not only called her, but did so for the express purpose of praising her high ratings.
Roseanne also discussed the details of her phone call with "Good Morning America" on Thursday.
"It was pretty exciting, I’ll tell you that much. They said, ‘Hold please for the President of the United States of America’ and that’s about the most exciting thing ever. It was very sweet of him to congratulate us," Barr said. "We just kinda had a private conversation but we talked about a lot of things. He was just happy for me. I’ve known him for a lot of years and he’s done a lot of nice things for me over the years and it’s a friendly conversation about working, television and ratings."
Yet many pointed out that, even as Trump was taking time to praise a celebrity who likes him, he was neglecting more important duties he has as president.
More deaths from gun violence & not a word from Trump. But he does have time to personally call Roseanne. Glad he has his priorities in order. 😔#DemForce https://t.co/rK5hZtwX2n
— Tammy 🌊 (@tmoyer09) March 29, 2018
Trump's inability to call the victims of gun violence, the survivors of fallen soldiers and his own secretary of state weren't his only oversights. He has also remained uncharacteristically silent about accusations by adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal that he had engaged in affairs with them more than a decade ago.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders justified his silence at the time by saying, "I didn’t say he punches back on every single topic. He also has a country to run."
The president has also been conspicuously silent about Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader who has been accused of meddling in America's elections, suppressing voters in his own countries and engaging in a number of other human rights violations and acts of international aggression. Although his administration has recently taken a tougher stance toward Russia, Trump himself has remained out of the spotlight while it has done so.
The president's desire to reach out to Roseanne speaks to how the president, despite his denunciations of Hollywood and celebrities, clearly craves the approval of the show business world. Trump has had well-known feuds with celebrities from actress Meryl Streep and comedienne Rosie O'Donnell to talk show host Oprah Winfrey and actor Alec Baldwin.
While he is hardly the first Republican president to be widely disliked by popular celebrities (just ask Richard Nixon and George W. Bush), he is the first one whose thin skin is so clearly on display. Hence why, when it comes to the success of a celebrity who not only likes him but incorporates that sympathetic view into her work, it makes sense that a man of Trump's character would prioritize congratulating her.
Trump wasn't the only prominent conservative to laud "Roseanne"'s high ratings as a triumph for right-wing politics. Conservative pundits lauded the program as proof of conservative success in Hollywood — and a slap in the face to liberals.
"Hollywood is now faced with indisputable evidence that there’s a huge potential audience out there for programs that don’t actively insult 63 million Trump voters," conservative commentator John Podhoretz wrote in the New York Post, pointing to the comparatively lower ratings of the "Will and Grace" revival and the most recent Oscars broadcast as proof that liberal shows simply don't do as well. He added, "The world between the coasts has just sent a message to the major domos of our popular culture. The message is: We’re conscious enough of our differences to shut you down when you set yourselves against us (the Oscars) but we are ready to provide enthusiastic support for your efforts if you treat us with respect."
"Roseanne" may be the latest battle in the culture war, but it's surely a sign that the president is far more interested in talking about that, than things related more closely to his job.
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