‘The Simpsons’ and the prophecy of President Trump
Sixteen years ago tomorrow, an episode of 'The Simpsons' predicted a Donald Trump Presidency.
By: Pari Heidari, Larry King Now
In the light of Donald Trump's political success, it would seem 'The Simpsons' might be more than a source of entertainment and comedy. If Trump does win the Republican nomination, and thereafter the presidency, the show could be seen as a source of political prescience or, perhaps, even get credited for sowing the idea of "President Donald Trump" in the first place.
The writer of the episode in question (
'Bart to the Future') Dan Greaney,
explains however that the mention of Trump was never meant to be anything more than the perfect punchline to an absurdist joke. "The story was really about Bart saving Lisa’s presidency,” Greaney tells The Post’s
Comic Riffs. The presidency is alluded to when Lisa - the first, “straight female” president of the United States - tells her cabinet, “as you know, we’ve inherited quite a budget crunch from President Trump.” Greaney
admits however that while it seemed funny 16 years ago, the reality of Trump's campaign is not something that amuses him today.
“But now that he’s running for president," says the Emmy-winning writer-producer, "I see [it] in a much darker way”. He also went on to suggest that Trump was more likable back in the day: “he seemed kind of lovable in the old days, in a blowhard way.”
When asked about Trump's chances, Greaney says, "I don’t think Trump can win. But the show is a collective, so our collective mind might have a different answer.”
Watch Hank Azaria - who voices the most characters on 'The Simpsons,' answer some of your social media questions - including if he'd rather be a cartoon or a real human - when he sat down with Larry on 'Larry King Now!'
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Ora Media, LLC, its affiliates, or its employees.
