‘The Simpsons’ Predicted Trump As President As An Example Of A Rock Bottom U.S.
The Simpsons is known for its celebrity cameos, but one person who hasn’t offered up his voice to the long-running Fox animated sitcom is Donald Trump. Still, that doesn’t mean Trump hasn’t been a recurring “character” on The Simpsons. In fact, the hit comedy even predicted a Trump presidency way back in 2000, when Lisa Simpson landed a set in the White House.
Sharing #Singer #Actor #Model #Music News https://t.co/xdCr7Wy6y5 | Flashback: Watch 'The Simpsons' Predict Pre… https://t.co/wvex4sW05N
— Ro Ro (@Ranasha) March 17, 2016
It’s been exactly 16 years since The Simpsons featured a future forward episode that had the country dealing with the aftermath of a disastrous Trump presidency. The March 19, 2000, episode was titled “Bart to the Future,” and Simpsons writer Dan Greaney said the Donald was used to pretty much show that the country had hit rock bottom. In a new interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Greaney said the episode embraced America’s over-the-top culture at the time.
“It was a warning to America. And that just seemed like the logical last stop before hitting bottom. It was pitched because it was consistent with the vision of America going insane … The Simpsons has always kind of embraced the over the top side of American culture … and [Trump] is just the fulfillment of that.”
In the now famous Simpsons episode, an adult Lisa Simpson was the first “straight female president” of the United States. But she had her work cut out for her in the form of a major budget crunch, thanks to her big-spending predecessor.
Greaney said The Simpsons episode has been getting a lot of attention now that Trump is really running for the GOP nomination. But in 2000, the real estate mogul’s fictional presidency did not pan out so well.
“The important thing is that Lisa comes into the presidency when America is on the ropes and that is the condition left by the Trump presidency. What we needed was for Lisa to have problems that were beyond her fixing, that everything went as bad as it possibly could, and that’s why we had Trump be president before her.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxjM1yCcqTQ
Of course, The Simpsons has gotten a lot of mileage out of Trump’s real life campaign, too. Last year, Homer Simpson had a close encounter with the Donald’s hair in a hilarious short titled “Trumptastic Voyage.” In the 90-second cartoon, The Simpsons patriarch accepts $50 to support the GOP hopeful at a rally, then shrinks and gets lost in Trump’s wild mane of hair when he gets too close behind him on an escalator.
In addition, a separate Simpsons animated short features Marge Simpson waking up to the nightmare that is the current crop of political candidates. Donald Trump is, of course part, of this bit, as a hyperventilating Marge can’t handle the cast of characters in the 2016 presidential race. She even has a message for the motley crew of candidates.
“Basic manners are gone from politics. What is it with these ding-dongs?”
Later, The Simpsons mom imagines Trump, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Marco Rubio, and more breaking into song. But guess who ruins their moment of togetherness?
While The Simpsons hasn’t been able to court Donald Trump for a cameo, you never know what the future holds. Despite its huge roster of celebrity guest stars—everyone from Mel Gibson to Mick Jagger has turned up on the show—the animated sitcom has never landed a U.S. president for a voice role. That could all change with Trump, though. This controversial candidate definitely marches to the beat of his own drum, so it wouldn’t be a total shock to see him sign on to the show to make fun of himself. Or at least to promote his campaign.
[Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images]
