Roseanne Cancelled After Stars Unleashes Racist Twitter Rant
DON LEMON, CNN TONIGHT NEWS SHOW HOST: This is "CNN Tonight." I'm Don Lemon. 11:00 p.m. here on the East Coast live with all the new developments tonight. Including the latest on ABC canceling the hit reboot of Roseanne after the star of the show Roseann Barr unleashed a racist tweet comparing former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett. Roseanne is paying the price for what she did. But has America become more openly racist under President Trump? Plus we're learning tonight that the President didn't just blast Attorney General, Jeff Sessions from recusing himself from the Russia investigation, he demanded he reverse his decision. Sessions stood his ground, but now Robert Mueller is very interested in that confrontation and what it means for the obstruction of justice or obstruction investigation. That is according to "The New York Times" and in a moment I'm going to talk to one of the reporters who broke that story. So, thank you so much for joining us, everyone. I want to bring in now CNN contributor, Frank Bruni, of "The New York Times," and also CNN contributor, Michael D'Antonio the author of "Truth about Trump," and CNN political analyst, April Ryan, White House correspondent for American urban radio networks. So, Frank you said, there is a true line between President Trump and Roseanne. Are they both traffic in conspiracy theory and they both traffic in bigotry, that Roseanne is Trump's avatar?</s>FRANK BRUNI, NEW YORK TIMES OP-ED COLUMNIST: Well, that is what I thought honestly this morning. If you're talking about using Twitter in a sort of, you know, incredibly divisive, in his case borderline racist or racist in her case overtly racist way, this idea though, what I think really connects them and what I think is disturbing about this moment, is this idea, which I think Donald Trump has promoted although she gets full credit, so to speak for what she did. This idea that divisive, nasty, hateful language is just blunt talk that rebels against political correctness. No, sometimes it is just racist as it was with these Roseanne tweet. And I think people are really confusing plain-spokenness with outright racism and it's disturbing. Because this is outright racism, and the happy part of this story is ABC did the right thing. It did not violate her freedom of speech. No one is sending her to prison. She is free to get back on Twitter tomorrow, she is free to go out in the public square and say anything what she wants to. ABC does not have to endorse or support that.</s>LEMON: I knew that was going to happen. As soon as the alert came over, I said in three, two, one, needs stifling conservative voices. Barr, you know what is coming.</s>MICHAEL D'ANTONIO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It's really hard to be plainspoken and direct and honest and thoughtful. This is the problem. So Roseanne Barr has done this before. She is almost exactly the same term to talk about Susan Rice. So are we surprised that this person lacks the intelligence and creativity to get beyond her racism and actually say something?</s>LEMON: Do you believe this is part of the bigger climate of racism or racist behavior that has happened since this President has taken office or at least since he is come onto the scene?</s>D'ANTONIO: He is done this his whole life, so we know that this is his M.O. And I think that he has open the door to the worst in us. This is a President who is chosen not to elevate us, but to diminish us and to teach us that, well, it's OK to talk this way, because the most important person in our body of politics and really the most powerful man on earth does this too. So, why not me?</s>LEMON: So, April, a lot of folks are wondering why the network even hired Roseanne, given her history of bigotry and spreading of conspiracy theory, she spread so many conspiracy theories, but our own President shares -- our won president shares conspiracy theories. I mean, just today President Trump continued his false Twitter tirade against Robert Mueller and the Russia investigation. April?</s>APRIL RYAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALIST: Well, Don, you know, yes, this whole situation of this President and conspiracy theories and Roseanne, these are people who really, and it's unfortunate to say, who really have no understanding of how government works. I mean, you know, we have had conspiracy theories since the grassy knoll theories or conspiracies and beyond. But at issue is a President of the United States who is friends with or supports this comedian slash actress or whatever you want to call her, and they sit down and just make these things up or hear from somewhere and say, oh, this sounds good, let me go with it. This kind of thing causes problem and can cause people to get hurt. I mean, we saw what happened with the pizza situation at Comic Pizza in Washington, D.C. things have to stop. There needs to be responsibility, there needs to be responsibility with the President and with people who have these great megaphones and have this wonderful perches, Roseanne Barr, she had a great perch that she abused. People understood she was controversial. Sometimes that makes people say, I like her, because she is against the grain. But you know what, she is gone too far. And she is not the only one. If you look on Twitter and we've talked about this. If you look on Twitter, you see people saying guerilla, you see people saying planet of the apes. I mean, I just got it this weekend, but you know what, goodness prevailed today. And maybe this president maybe -- just maybe, he got a glimpse of it and that is why he left it alone tonight.</s>LEMON: Yes, I wouldn't hold my breath on that, April.</s>RYAN: I'm taking goodness in.</s>LEMON: I'm still getting people sharing the fake Whoopi Goldberg t- shirt that says -- that Whoopi Goldberg had a picture of the president being shot. It's fake, it is not real, it is a conspiracy theory. People are still spreading all those things and many even still believe in and some of them don't believe it, they just love doing it. So, look, I don't give a rat's you know what someone says about me on Twitter unless, you know, they threaten my life or unless it puts me in danger. Listen, I want -- this is another conspiracy theory that I just talked about. Just a short while ago Republican, Trey Gowdy supported the FBI's -- the FBI's use of an informant. Watch this.</s>REP. TREY GOWDY, (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I am even more convinced that the FBI did exactly what my fellow citizens did what they wanted them to do when they got the information they got and it has nothing to do with Donald Trump.</s>LEMON: Go, Frank, what did you think?</s>BRUNI: I didn't hear the end of what he said.</s>LEMON: He said it had nothing to do with Donald Trump. It is supported that he thinks that the FBI did the right thing and that is what most citizens of the United States would want them to do, it had nothing to do with Trump.</s>BRUNI: Well, I mean, I would agree with him. And I am very glad that he said, you are talking about Spygate and all of those stuff. I mean, yes, the things is, we need more Republicans like Trey Gowdy to come out and say that. I mean, when I listen to that. I'm glad that he is not buying into what Donald Trump is selling. But the thing that remains so disturbing is how many Republicans either buy into or pretend they buy into it or just look away. And it remains the norm, most Republicans in D.C. are still turning their gazes away were they are biting their tongues. And every time they do that Trump is getting to normalize this sort of conspiracy theorizing. We worried at the beginning what would he normalized? Now, Roseanne gets full credit and blame for what she did. And she might have done it without him, but one of the things Donald Trump is normalizing is the notion that if you believe something might be true, it's OK to put it out there.</s>LEMON: Yes.</s>BRUNI: You know, if you have a bad feeling about someone --</s>RYAN: It is not normal. It is not normal.</s>BRUNI: Yes. That should never become normal. And as Michael said so eloquently when it is done by a person at the apex of our government, it is impossible for some people not to see that as a green light and as permission. And that is something Donald Trump has never had to answer for.</s>D'ANTONIO: And it's abject cowardice by the members of congress to not confront this. We now have a conspiracy caucus among Republican that are on the friend -- one of them happens to be my members of congress and they promote these conspiracy theories as if there's something to it. It's destructive to our society, it is destructive to our democracy. And we're not going to recover that quickly.</s>LEMON: Do you remember?</s>D'ANTONIO: He's Alvin. And he is a guy who thinks that there's now a conspiracy in every FBI office.</s>LEMON: He also represents me on the Long Island as well. So, listen, Roseanne has paid the price now. But, I mean, when you look at, you know, in President Trump's calls --</s>RYAN: Has she really, though?</s>LEMON: Go on. I am going to ask you the next question. What do you mean by that?</s>RYAN: You know, OK, ABC did this major move and some people were saying I'm shocked. But they made this major move, but it's not over yet. The question is will another network pick her up, and if they do it just negates everything that happened. And a television executive, a good friend of mine sent me a text and said, look, let's see who picks her up, if she is picked up. So, it is not over, we have to wait and see. Because trust me, Roseanne Barr is also a businesswoman and it's about the economics as well. A lot of people are out of work, and I guarantee you she is working the phones trying to revamp her image and trying to see if this can fly.</s>LEMON: OK. I mean she took an action. She paid the consequences for the action. ABC did act on this. Whether someone picks her up, listen that is their right. I mean, maybe, someone -- people who traffics in conspiracy theories and pick her up, this is America.</s>D'ANTONIO: She'll have a standup tour.</s>BRUNI: She will be having an economic sec on his.</s>LEMON: Bill Cosby doesn't really --</s>RYAN: How long though?</s>LEMON: he tried.</s>BRUNI: I mean, he tried.</s>D'ANTONIO: But she will go out will play the red states and now she'll be the hero. Yes, I can imagine her --</s>LEMON: Yes, but I think I wouldn't --</s>BRUNI: That is too -- there will be a pocket of people --</s>BRUNI: Of American world rallies to her and make her a hero. America who will rally to her and make her a hero.</s>LEMON: There will be a pocket of people -- I wouldn't say all red states.</s>D'ANTONIO: That is too -- there will be a pocket of America who will rally to her and make her a hero.</s>LEMON: OK then so let's talk about -- because you know, Roseanne paid the price, so to speak. April said it's not over yet. Billy Bush, Bill Cosby you mentioned, Matt Lauer, Harvey Weinstein and the list goes on. But there's no consequence for this President.</s>D'ANTONIO: Well, there is no consequence because he was elected as he reminds everyone with help, and we're not allowed to ask about that, and he is now gained the system. The way that he claims that it gains again him. We have no alternative, but the Democratic process.</s>BRUNI: It is simpler than that. All of these other people had bosses, Donald Trump's boss is the American people. And he gets his judgment when we get to vote again. And it is my, if not quite my belief it's my fervent hope that once -- Americans on mosque get to weigh in on this again they will say, no, no, this is not who we are.</s>LEMON: All right. Thank you all. I appreciate it.</s>RYAN: But Don, I want to --</s>LEMON: Go on, if you can do it in five seconds, April.</s>RYAN: Real fast. I believe black America, black leaders weighed on this President's mind today. And that is one of the reasons, but he did not say anything about Roseanne in Nashville, because he is working with black leaders behind closed doors on an urban agenda as well as prison reform, and black leaders are not happy about what happened today, so he kept quiet.</s>LEMON: I don't know. I don't know if I'm buying that.</s>BRUNI: Well, he is a politician.</s>LEMON: We shall see.</s>BRUNI:  5: 00 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. is his Twitter spot.</s>LEMON: Too late. When we come back, why has calling out racist behavior become a political issue? We're going talk about how tribal minded political thinking seems to prevent people from calling outright and wrong.