‘The Simpsons’ Prediction In 2000 About Trump Being President Was Meant As A Warning [Video]
An episode of the popular TV show The Simpsons that aired in 2000 predicted that Donald Trump would be president. The writer of the episode, Dan Greaney, said it was “a warning to America.”
…[Trump being president] 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 prediction aired almost exactly 16 years ago, on March 19, 2000, in the episode titled “Bart to the Future.” The episode is a snapshot of Bart’s troubled future and shows Lisa as the first female president of the U.S., succeeding Trump’s presidency.
"The Simpsons", S11E17, 'Bart to the Future', original air date March 19, 2000. pic.twitter.com/EaNEWBYB7o
— Todd Vaziri (@tvaziri) March 17, 2016
According to Time at the time of The Simpsons prediction, The Apprentice was still four years away from premiering. The line referencing Trump was somewhat of a throwaway line, but as with all cameos in The Simpsons, it was in there on purpose, said Greaney.
“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. The Simpsons has always kind of embraced the over the top side of American culture … and [Trump] is just the fulfillment of that.”
The Simpsons prediction shows a dire America that has been broken and is in desperate need of repair. In the episode Lisa – who describes herself as “America’s first straight female president” — is landed with the task of saving America from Trump.
“As you know, we’ve inherited quite a budget crunch from President Trump…How bad is it? The country is broke? How can that be?” Lisa says while in the Oval Office.
Watch #TheSimpsons predict President Trump 16 years ago in the "Bart to the Future" episode https://t.co/fZqETftIuk pic.twitter.com/RS3AdlXiJ0
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) March 17, 2016
At the time, the episode was not received very well due to the dire life Bart has, but in recent months, 16 years after the episode aired, Greaney has said he has received a lot of calls about the Trump prediction episode, according to CNN.
“I am tickled we are getting all this attention, but I don’t think it’s going to trigger this well-awaited re-evaluation of my episode that I was hoping for.”
Although The Simpsons prediction is scary, it was 14 years off the mark. In Bart’s vision Trump claims the White House 30 years into the future, meaning it would be 2030, not 2016.
In a separate brief animation released by The Simpsons in July, Homer is paid to attend a Trump campaign rally where he is captured by rogue fronds of Trump’s puzzling hairstyle until he is dragged off by two security guards, but not before he says, “Do you care who the next president is? No? Come with me.” A line that is a bit too real for some viewers.
The Simpsons prediction of Trump being president was a laughable outcome at the time, but a lot of people are not laughing now as the billionaire is the favorite to gain the Republican nomination for the presidency.
The Simpsons prediction of Trump as president line is in the YouTube clip below.
https://youtu.be/lxjM1yCcqTQ
[Photo by The Simpsons/YouTube]
