Roseanne Barr defends Trump, says sitcom will tackle politics

Barr said making her sitcom counterpart a Trump supporter made sense for the show about a working-class American family. (ABC/Robert Trachtenberg)

PASADENA, Calif. – Roseanne Barr defended her support for President Trump and her choice to make her sitcom character a Trump supporter in the upcoming “Roseanne” revival heading to ABC in March.

Barr said making her sitcom counterpart a Trump supporter made sense for the show about a working-class American family.

“It’s just realistic,” she explained.

She went on, “I have always … attempted to portray a realistic portrait of the American people and working class people. And, in fact, it was working class people that elected Trump so I felt that was very real and something that needed to be discussed.”

Barr made the comments during Monday’s Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour. Additionally, during a Q-and-A she also defended her choice to vote for Trump when pressed on the issue.

ROSEANNE - "Roseanne," the timeless sitcom that broke new ground and dominated ratings in its original run, will return to ABC with all-new episodes, in a special hour-long premiere, TUESDAY, MARCH 27 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EDT). "Roseanne" will air in its regular time slot, 8:00-8:30 p.m., beginning TUESDAY, APRIL 3. (ABC/Adam Rose) SARA GILBERT, LAURIE METCAF, ROSEANNE BARR, JOHN GOODMAN, MICHAEL FISHMAN, SARAH CHALKE, ALICIA GORANSON (© 2017 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.)

"I think it was time for us, as a country, to shake things up and try something different," she said of electing Trump.

Barr said she supports the president -- though she may not agree with everything he says.

“He says a lot of crazy s--- but I mean… I’m not a Trump apologist. There are a lot of things he has said and done that I don’t agree with,” she noted, saying many people who voted for Hillary Clinton likely felt the same way. “It’s always the lesser of two evils and we always have to face our own conscience of how we deal with that.”

Executive Producer Bruce Helford noted the show will tackle varying political views.

“We had a lot of discussions about all of our beliefs,” he said. “We had to find a way for this particular family… to get that debate going in a very honest way and a very real way. So whether you were pro-Trump or anti-Trump it was really about getting that dialogue going in an honest way.”

He added, “There’s no agenda.”

The new "Roseanne," debuting March 27, reunites Barr with John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert and other original cast members.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.