Trump called Roseanne Barr to congratulate her on show's 'huge' ratings

Roseanne Barr.
(Image credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

In between firing Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin and soldiering through one of close aide Hope Hicks' last days at the White House, President Trump got to talk about something he loves — ratings — with someone who loves him: Roseanne Barr.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed Trump's call to Barr, and people with knowledge of their discussion told The New York Times that Trump was in awe of the "huge" ratings the reboot of Roseanne earned for its premiere Tuesday night — an average of 18.2 million viewers. Trump is famously obsessed with ratings, and when Trump still hosted The Apprentice, he bragged about it being the No. 1 show on television even when it wasn't in the Top 10.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.