CBS This Morning hosts on Thursday eagerly promoted a new alternate reality episode of The Good Fight in which Hillary Clinton has won the 2016 election and is now president. Star Christine Baranski appeared on the show to declare this “my favorite episode that I've done in the ten years” on the series.
Baranski described her character Diane Lockhart as a “resistance fighter against Trump and going crazy as a liberal feminist, living through this era.” Interestingly, she explained the ramifications of a theoretical Clinton win this way:
[It] begs the question what if Hillary had been president? And it opens up a lot of very interesting issues. And it's head spinning because what if hundreds of thousands of women hadn't marched in Washington the day after the inauguration? What about that anger? Would that anger have led to a Me Too movement? Would Harvey Weinstein still be… functioning in the world and all those other guys that came down as a result of the Me Too movement?
The question of whether the liberal media would have aggressively gone after Harvey Weinstein (a supporter of both Clintons) with Bill Clinton still in the White House as First Gentleman is a good one, though perhaps not necessarily what Baranski meant.
This is also slightly awkward for the This Morning co-hosts. After all, the disgraced ex-host Charlie Rose was one of “those other guys that game down as a result of the Me Too movement.” On May 3, 2018, after the sexual abuse scandal was exposed, King complained on-air about having to cover it: “I don't know what to say about this.... I don't know what more we can do to Charlie Rose except a public flogging. He's gone.... I’m sick of handling it.”
After some blowback, she retreated on May 4, 2018, saying of the Rose inquiry: “Let the chips fall where they may.”
Here’s a clip from The Good Fight that This Morning’s hosts played on Thursday:
CHRISTINE BARANSKI: Who is president?
WOMAN: Who?
BARANSKI: Yes.
WOMAN: ... Diane, are you micro dosing again?
BARANSKI: No. Well, maybe. I don’t know. Isn’t Trump President?
WOMAN: [Laughs.] No.
BARANSKI [Whispering]: So it’s Hillary?
WOMAN: Yes.
BARANSKI: How long has she been--?
WOMAN: Three years. Are you all right, Diane?
The Good Fight has a long history of bashing conservatives, including comparing them to Nazi monster Joseph Goebbels. The show airs on the streaming network CBS All Access.
A partial transcript of the segment is below:
CBS This Morning
4/9/2020
8:39 AM ET
[Clip of The Good Fight.]
CHRISTINE BARANSKI: Who is president?
WOMAN: Who?
BARANSKI: Yes.
WOMAN: [To person next to her.] I’ll tell you later. Diane, are you micro dosing again?
BARANSKI: No. Well, maybe. I don’t know. Isn’t Trump President?
WOMAN: [Laughs.] No.
BARANSKI [Whispering]: So it’s Hillary?
WOMAN: Yes.
BARANSKI: How long has she been--?
WOMAN: Three years. Are you all right, Diane?
[Clip ends.]
GAYLE KING: “Are you all right, Diane? Hi, Christine Baranski. She joins us from her home in Connecticut. Good to see you.
BARANSKI: It’s great to see you.
KING: I know when I was watching that episode, I was thrown, too. I was thrown, too. Always good to see you, Christine. ‘Cause it's an alternate reality where Hillary Clinton wins the 2016 election. But there are so many cultural references that I went, “Huh, huh, huh?” You said this is your favorite episode so far. Why?
BARANSKI: It's the -- my favorite episode that I've done in the ten years I've played the character. For one thing, I think it's an extremely funny and witty episode. And I've done so much comedy in my career. But I don't get to use those chops usually playing Diane who's such a serious legal character. But this -- you know, this begs the question what if Hillary had been president? And it opens up a lot of very interesting issues. And it's head spinning because what if hundreds of thousands of women hadn't marched in Washington the day after the inauguration? What about that anger? Would that anger have led to a Me Too movement? Would Harvey Weinstein still be, you know, would he still be, you know, functioning in the world and all those other guys that came down as a result of the Me Too movement. So it's a really compelling episode. But I also just think it's damn funny.
BARANSKI: I was going to say it's compelling, but it's also very funny. There's a couple of times when I went, oh, I winced a little bit. I'll let people watch and decide for themselves. I remember when the show launched in 2017 and we had you on. You were apprehensive thinking CBS All Access, how's this going to work? Will we be able to find an audience. It goes to show you the audience finds things that are good, they find it, and that even a-list stars want to come and play like Michael J. Fox who's back. Talk about your apprehensions then --
BARANSKI: We have such --
KING: How you're feel being it now.
BARANSKI: Well, look where we are. Everybody's sitting at home. And they're looking for -- they're looking for good content. They certainly will find it watching The Good Fight. I still -- I've always said this is the only show that really places characters in the world in which we are living in the Trump presidency. For all these years we've, you know, had Diane, you know, being a resistance fighter against Trump and going crazy as a liberal feminist, living through this era. And I think it's the only show where you see people living in this crazy era that we're going through. And so I think people will relate to it strongly. It's -- it's, you know, it's relevant. It's a very relevant show. You know, obviously it doesn't address this current health crisis. But we -- we got shut down like the rest of the shows by mid-March. But I have no doubt that if we continue that the Kings will address this, as well.
