Donald Trump has always cared about television ratings, and this week he definitely noticed when Roseanne Barr’s show pulled in huge numbers.
Trump personally called Barr to offer his congratulations after her eponymous family sitcom pulled in a whopping 18.2 million viewers on Tuesday night.
The president spoke to the comedian about the premiere’s ‘huge’ ratings, and thanked Barr for her continued public support, according to the New York Times.
He also reportedly thanked Barr, 65, for making her character in the show a passionate Trump supporter.
Donald Trump personally called Roseanne Barr to offer his congratulations after the revival of family sitcom pulled in a whopping 18.2 million viewers on Tuesday night
Trump also reportedly thanked Barr for making her character in the show (pictured with John Goodman) a passionate Trump supporter
The call was confirmed by White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
It is hardly a surprise that Roseanne, which follows blue-collar family the Connors and stars the comedian as a Trump fan, hit big with Middle America.
The show performed best in states that Trump easily won in 2016, while Americans in the left-leaning coastal states hardly tuned in at all.
Roseanne’s highest ratings were in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which Trump won easily in 2016 with 65.3 percent of the vote, according to Deadline.
Rounding out the top three were Cincinnati, Ohio and Kansas City, Missouri.
The show performed best in states that Trump easily won in 2016, while Americans in the left-leaning coastal states hardly tuned in at all. Roseanne is pictured here on Wednesday
While New York and Los Angeles are the top two television markets, respectively, Roseanne did not appear in either state’s Top 20
Chicago, which came in at number five, was the only blue state to appear in the top 10 for the show’s ratings.
But this could also be due to the fact that the show, which first premiered in 1988 and ran for 10 seasons, has always taken place in Illinois.
ABC also took efforts to promote the show in the city, even airing a preview of the premiere at the 54th Chicago International Film Festival.
While New York and Los Angeles are the top two television markets, respectively, Roseanne did not appear in either state’s Top 20.
But Roseanne nabbed the highest demo rating since the fall 2014 premiere of The Big Bang Theory, scoring a 5.1 rating in the all important adults 18-49 category.
Roseanne’s ratings have baffled media analysts, who note that much of Tuesday’s audience came from viewers who weren’t even born when the first show ran
The revival’s premiere also drew in 10 percent more viewers than the original series’ finale in 1997.
Roseanne’s ratings have baffled media analysts, who note that much of Tuesday’s audience came from viewers who weren’t even born when the first show ran.
But ABC was sure to push the revival hard, launching a pop-up of the Connors’ kitchen as well as the iconic Lanford Lunch Box at SXSW earlier this month as well as a tie-in with NASCAR.
Barr, who has been on the promotional circuit, has also not shied away from expressing her support for Trump.
The revival’s premiere (pictured) also drew in 10 percent more viewers than the original series’ finale in 1997
Before the 2016 election, the comedian made headlines when she said: ‘I think we would be so lucky if Trump won. Because then it wouldn’t be Hillary.’
And Barr expressed her disdain for the former Democratic presidential nominee again earlier this week, flipping off Jimmy Kimmel when he noted she once called Clinton a ‘murderer’.
‘I deleted it, so f**k you,’ she told Kimmel while flipping the bird. ‘I had some disagreements with her foreign policy.’
‘A lot of us, no matter who we voted for, we don’t want to see our president fail,’ Barr added as Kimmel asked about her support for Trump.
‘Because we don’t want Pence! Are you f*****g kidding me? You want Pence? You want Pence for the freaking president? Well then, zip that f*****g line!’
Culture war: The modern American political debate was well-reflected with Roseanne as a Trump supporter, and her sister Jackie leaning toward the left