[Baldwin:] The "Roseanne" reboot is on a roll. Monster ratings right out of the gate. ABC is poised to renew the show for a second season. But after episode one, people are wondering if the reboot is Trump propaganda. And 2018's Roseanne is a Trump supporter. And the real- life Roseanne has a history of promoting right-wing conspiracy theories on her Twitter feed. The series' star says she wants the show to be a realistic image of a family in America's current political climate. With me now, Dan Abrams, legal analyst, and founder of "Mediaite." Good to see you.
[Dan Abrams, Chief Legal Affairs Analyst, Abc News & Founder, Mediaite:] Good to see you.
[Baldwin:] Do you think ABC will have an issue on its hands with the conspiracy theories that are beginning to percolate into the mainstream?
[Abrams:] No. She's long had a big following on social media. This is not news she has said these things in the past. She's gotten this renewed interest. People are looking, I guess, again at things she said under the microscope more.
[Baldwin:] What if she keeps it up?
[Abrams:] That would be different. My guess is that her goal will be to have crossover appeal, someone that Trump supporters can say I like the show and non-Trump supporter can still say I get it. I was a fan back in the day and this isn't going to make me not watch the show. I think we've become very forgiving about past social media comments and I also think broadcast television is different.
[Baldwin:] I agree, given who the audience may be, and who may or may not be aware of all this percolating. Do you think that the president deserves credit for any of her 18 million viewers? Because he's taking it.
[Abrams:] No. Who knew what was going to be said on the show. To say you see, because they were talking about this in a positive way on the show, that's why the show popular. That would suggest that people had a script before to go see the show. They're building an audience of X, Y or Z after three episodes. But to say on the first episode they said things that were pro Trump that that's the reason that the show did well, doesn't kind of make sense.
[Baldwin:] Yes.
[Abrams:] You could say it's why people might watch the second episode.
[Baldwin:] But not the first.
[Abrams:] Right. Because
[Baldwin:] It's not just she's a Trump supporter. There's so much more progressive issues, her sister wearing the hat for the woman's march.
[Abrams:] Yes. Yes.
[Baldwin:] I agree with you on the crossover appeal. Something I was wondering about, because we have the likes of everything between "Fuller House," "Will & Grace" reboot, not "Roseanne," is there an '80s or '90s show that could be relevant today that you would like to see reboot up?
[Abrams:] That I would like to see?
[Baldwin:] Yes.
[Abrams:] Me, I'd like to see
[Baldwin:] That could be relevant today.
[Abrams:] I would love to see "Seinfeld" today. I don't know that it would be that relevant, so to speak. We maybe analyzing "Roseanne" a little bit too much. We in the news business want to bring everything back.
[Baldwin:] Not often is there a working-class family on mainstream TV. And I think there's a need for it, based on people watching.
[Abrams:] Right. But that's what we need on television. That's a different question from relevance today. Working-class families are always going to be relevant on television. Period. And if they're under represented, that's always going to be a problem, period, no matter when you're talking about. But I think these reboots are going to be something that every network will want to try to do. You have familiarity. You have people who know the characters. And you have people who, in many cases, love the characters.
[Baldwin:] I want to ask you about Laura Ingraham. Let me say for the record, I would love to see "Family Matters," Steve Erkel, African- American family, police officer father. With everything happening now, wouldn't you like to see it? Jaleel White, if you're watching.
[Abrams:] Yes.
[Baldwin:] I would love to see that. Meantime, FOX News' Laura Ingraham basically bullied this Parkland survivor let's call it what it is on Twitter over not getting into any colleges, and he tossed a bomb back and said to advertisers, essentially, I dare to you pull out of the show. Are you surprised how many advertisers have bailed?
[Abrams:] I am surprised, because I think many who advertise with her show know what the show is. I think we should be careful. I think it's dangerous for either side to celebrate advertisers pulling out and advertisers deciding
[Baldwin:] Why?
[Abrams:] Why should advertisers be the ones who can finally have the impact? Right? It seems that's the only way
[Baldwin:] Isn't that what she really cares
[Abrams:] Do I think that's the reason she apologized? My guess is that it's her realizing she went too far and the advertisers. It's a dangerous business on the whole when we start celebrating the advertisers are pulling out. That can happen to either side and anyone. You can hope that it would be the public, the viewers who are the ones that demand change and
[Baldwin:] Last question, the devil's advocate piece. But if these students, many whom are 16, 17, 18 years of age suffer a tragic loss, but if they're using words like "murderers" in referring to members of the NRA and others who is it fair to throw it back?
[Abrams:] No, they're fair game. They're advocates now. They're young victim advocates. But they have to be treated as advocates. The problem here was Laura ended up being petty about it. It wasn't that she criticized him that was the problem. The problem was it felt small and petty to do to a high school student. In particular, when you're talking about something that only high school students have to deal with, getting into college. That's what made this different. There's no question, hey, these kids better saddle up. If they're going to get into this debate and be out there advocating, they better learn how to take it.
[Baldwin:] Dan Abrams, good to see you.
[Abrams:] You, too.
[Baldwin:] Thank you so much. Ahead here, Gloria Allred splitting with one of the president's accusers, the former "Apprentice" contestant, in the middle of a significant lawsuit. And Summer Zervos says it's her decision to split. We'll get into that. Also, student outrage boiling over at the campus of Howard University in D.C. after the iconic school fires six employees for misappropriating financial aid funds. We have the details on the scandal that dates back nearly a decade.