On her 12:00 p.m. ET hour show on Monday, MSNBC anchor Andrea Mitchell admitted that she was a “fan girl” of the CBS drama Madam Secretary, a show in which a Hillary Clinton-like Secretary of State crusades for one liberal cause after another. Mitchell noted that her love of the show has only increased since the “downturn” of the State Department under President Trump.
Welcoming on actor Erich Bergen, who plays assistant Blake Moran to fictional Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord (played by Tea Leoni) on the CBS program, Mitchell gushed: “I have to admit to being a fan girl. I love the show, love your performance. We’ll talk about Madam Secretary.”
Later in the segment, after touting Bergen’s advocacy for gun control and increased education funding for arts and music, Mitchell went back to promoting her favorite show: “The show is so wonderful. I wanted to show a clip from Madam Secretary.”
After the clip, Bergen claimed that the show has fans on both sides of the aisle:
We take topics that could easily be sensationalized, it is a TV show, but we look at it with a really – a serious view as to, what can viewers learn from this? I get stopped on the street all the time by people from all political parties who just love the show and want to talk about it. I think it’s a – it’s a great show for families to watch together.
Mitchell then revealed why she was such a loyal viewer: “Well, as we've had a downturn at the State Department, at least it’s one place where we can watch diplomacy in action, at least once a week on Sunday night.” Bergen declared: “That’s the only time you get it.”
It’s remarkable that the supposed journalist would take such a jab when the Trump administration is in the midst of high-stakes diplomacy to negotiate peace on the Korean peninsula. Apparently reality is not dramatic enough.
Mitchell went on to hail the season finale of Madam Secretary that aired Sunday night: “And just to say, last night’s finale, nuclear armageddon, I’m not going to be a spoiler, but it was incredibly moving and powerful.” The plot of the episode was the United States and Russia coming to the brink nuclear war based on a miscommunication about a training exercise.
Suggesting there was a message for the real-life administration, Bergen replied: “We were very proud of that episode and we hope that it leads to some conversations here.” Mitchell assured him: “It already has.”
Perhaps Mitchell also thought the show was “moving and powerful” because of Leoni’s character announcing her desire to “run for president” in the final moments of the episode.
A liberal female secretary of state running for president, imagine that? No wonder why Mitchell is such a fan, it allows her to live in an alternate universe before Clinton lost to Donald Trump.
Here is a transcript of the May 21 exchange:
12:52 PM ET
ANDREA MITCHELL: Actor Erich Bergen performed with some of those talented students from Parkland in April at a benefit for victims and survivors of the shooting. And today, he’s taking a break from his day job as one of the stars on CBS’s hit show Madam Secretary to fight for arts and music funding in our schools. Erich Bergen, welcome.
ERICH BERGEN: Thank you.
MITCHELL: I have to admit to being a fan girl. I love the show, love your performance. We’ll talk about Madam Secretary.
(...)
MITCHELL: The show is so wonderful. I wanted to show a clip from Madam Secretary.
BERGEN: Sure.
MITCHELL: Where, you know, you are Blake, her loyal assistant at the State Department, with Tea Leoni.
[CLIP OF MADAM SECRETARY]
MITCHELL: And that was, I think, from May 13th, but now in the season conclusion, in the finale last night, you’re already launching into your new public policy role?
BERGEN: Yeah, you know, I – they –
MITCHELL: It’s a big change from bringing doughnuts in the morning and keeping her on schedule.
BERGEN: I think no matter what my – whatever my job changes to, I will still be bringing doughnuts in the morning. But I just love the show. I just love working on the show. I love what the writers do. We take topics that could easily be sensationalized, it is a TV show, but we look at it with a really – a serious view as to, what can viewers learn from this? I get stopped on the street all the time by people from all political parties who just love the show and want to talk about it. I think it’s a – it’s a great show for families to watch together.
MITCHELL: Well, as we've had a downturn at the State Department, at least it’s one place where we can watch diplomacy in action, at least once a week on Sunday night.
BERGEN: That’s the only time you get it.
MITCHELL: And just to say, last night’s finale, nuclear armageddon, I’m not going to be a spoiler, but it was incredibly moving.
BERGEN: Yeah.
MITCHELL: And powerful.
BERGEN: Thanks. We were very proud of that episode and we hope that it leads to some conversations here.
MITCHELL: It already has. Erich, thank you so much. Thanks for what you’re doing this week, thanks for your acting.
BERGEN: Thank you.
