ABC’s Roseanne revival drew a grand total of 18.2 million same-day viewers with its premiere, which was apparently enough to catch the eye of the ratings-obsessed president. Per the New York Times, Donald Trump called up Roseanne Barr, a Trump supporter like her character Roseanne Conner (though her family members in the show disagree with her politics), to congratulate her on the revival and thank her for her support. The Times, citing an insider, claims that Trump “was enthralled by the ‘huge’ ratings†the show received, so his focus on matters of size remains as firm as ever.
Barr herself called into Good Morning America this morning and discussed what she and Trump spoke about on the phone. “We just kinda had a private conversation, but we talked about a lot of things,†she said. “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.†George Stephanopoulos emphasized that Trump really does seem to care about ratings, and she said, “He really understands ratings and how they measure things and that’s been an interest of mine for a long time, too.â€