CBS’ reboot of the 1990s show “Murphy Brown” is filled with cringey anti-Trump fodder for its leftist viewers. On Thursday’s episode, aptly titled “Beat the Press,” for example, Trump supporters beat a reporter at the beset of President Donald Trump.
In “Beat the Press,” actress Candice Bergen, who plays Murphy Brown, is watching a Trump rally set in Pennsylvania on television with her son Avery (played by actor Jake McDorman). A voice emanating from the TV set she’s watching is a faux Trump voice directing his supporters to “body slam” a reporter named Frank Fontana (played by actor Joe Regalbuto). The show cuts to the TV set, where actual footage of President Donald Trump at one of his rallies is playing.
The faux Trump voice mocks “Old Murphy” and “Fibbin’ Frank Fontana.”
“Fibbin’ Frank Fontana is here tonight. Where is he? There he is. See him? That’s right. Let Fibbin’ Frank know what you think of him! Maybe a good body slam, what do you say?” says the voice meant to be President Trump. Here’s the full exchange (transcript provided via NewsBusters):
Murphy: You know, your Uncle Frank is in here somewhere.
Avery: He’s covering the rally?
Murphy: Yep.
Trump: And by the way, anybody catch Old Murphy on TV this morning?
Murphy: Oh, boy. Here we go.
Trump: Yeah, she was at it again. Sitting there with her flunky friends, telling their big lies, planting their fake stories about our great country.
Avery: Is that what you do? You paint a much different picture.
Trump: I hear Old Murphy’s partner in crime, Fibbin’ Frank Fontana is here tonight. Where is he? There he is. See him? That’s right. Let Fibbin’ Frank know what you think of him! Maybe a good body slam, what do you say?
Murphy: Oh, I can’t watch this garbage anymore.
WATCH:
And it gets worse from there. Another scene shows Murphy and Avery going to a Washington, D.C., hospital to visit Fontana, who has been brutally beaten by evil Trump supporters.
“Next thing I know, I’m surrounded by a sea of red hats,” Fontana tells the other characters, clearly referencing Trump supporters in iconic “MAGA” hats. Fontana’s character suffered broken ribs and a damaged eye from the deplorables:
Murphy: I guess when you major in journalism these days, you have to minor in kickboxing.
Avery: Hey, Uncle Frank.
Frank: Hey, guys.
Murphy: What happened to you? I thought you knew how to duck.
Frank: You should see the other hundred guys. How bad do I look?
Murphy: Not bad, if you’re a piñata.
Avery: So, I guess the takeaway here is, next time you cover a rally, hope the president doesn’t give you a shout out.
Frank: When Trump left the stage, I decided to leave the press pen and go interview some of the people. Next thing I know, I’m surrounded by a sea of red hats.
Murphy: Oh, God.
Frank: No big deal. I’m just milking this for the Jell-O and sponge baths.
WATCH:
The show’s over-the-top “comedic” venom toward the president and his supporters hasn’t fared so well. Though the show’s creator has denied the reports, it looks like this will be the only season of the anti-Trump Murphy Brown reboot.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, CBS will stick to the “closed-ended order of 13 episodes” of Murphy Brown to “clear room on the schedule” for other comedic shows.
“For Murphy Brown, the rebooted series was always intended to be a closed-ended order of 13 episodes,” says the report. “The multicamera comedy, featuring the return of star Candice Bergen and from original creator Diane English, has underperformed (6.2 million total viewers and a 0.9 in the key 18-49 demo) in its prime Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. slot and remains in consideration for a renewal. Fellow multicam comedy Fam, starring Nina Dobrev and Tone Bell — which has already changed showrunners — will take over Murphy Brown’s slot starting Thursday, Jan. 10.”