Hillary Clinton jokes about email in 'Murphy Brown' return to TV

[September 28, 2018]  By Lisa Richwine

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton made a surprise appearance on the revival of television comedy "Murphy Brown" on Thursday, joking about her experience with emails in an episode that took jabs at President Donald Trump and the media.

The show that became a flashpoint in the U.S. culture wars in 1992 returned to the air for the first time in 20 years with star Candice Bergen again playing the pioneering journalist.

In Thursday's episode, Clinton walks into the newsroom to interview for a job as Murphy's secretary. The former secretary of state claims that she is not Hillary Clinton but someone who looks like her and has a wealth of experience.

"Your reputation precedes you, but I want you to know I'm not afraid of hard work," Clinton said to Murphy. "I'm qualified and I'm ready on day one."

Murphy asks the job seeker several questions, including one about her experience with technology. "I do have some experience with emails," Clinton responded.

Clinton faced criticism during her losing presidential campaign against Trump in 2016 for using a private email server for official correspondence.

The fictional Murphy Brown became news in 1992 when Vice President Dan Quayle attacked the character for having a baby outside wedlock. Quayle said the show was glamorizing single motherhood and "mocking the importance of fathers."

TV networks have resurrected several hits from the 1990s but Bergen and "Murphy Brown" creator Diane English have said they would not have brought the CBS series back if Trump had not been elected.

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gives a public lecture at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland June 22, 2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

In the new episode, Murphy Brown has come out of retirement to host a cable TV morning show alongside fellow journalists Frank and Corky (Joe Regalbuto and Faith Ford) and producer Miles (Grant Shaud) to provide the type of news she feels is lacking.

"Here's the novelty - it's going to be factual," Murphy says to her son Avery (Jake McDorman), now 28 and a journalist who works as a liberal voice on the conservative Wolf Network.

After she and her co-anchors are told to "amplify our brand" across social media, Murphy promptly provokes a Twitter war with Trump, making a joke about his hair and shouting "You bring it on. Hashtag Dan Quayle."

The character later regrets it. "I wanted to do a show that didn't resort to name-calling," Murphy says. "This is why people don't trust the press anymore."

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Paul Tait)

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