None of the polls predicted Donald Trump to win the presidency on Election Day, but The Simpsons saw it coming 16 years ago.
In the 2000 episode, “Bart to the Future,” America’s favorite prankster gets a glimpse of his life down the road from a mystic at an Indian casino. Lisa Simpson is “the first straight female president,” and she’s dealing with a budget crunch and the fallout from the previous administration, led by President Trump. (He doesn’t actually appear in the episode; the still above is from the 2015 season.)
It’s a dark episode, not just for its bleak political commentary but for the outlook it gives Bart.
Here’s the clip, which hits a little too close to home right now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hzRnwLTMfM
The episode was more than just prescient, though. “It was a warning to America,” writer Dan Greaney told the Hollywood Reporter. “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.”
In an October interview with the Guardian, Simpsons creator Matt Groening shared some insight on the show. “We predicted that he would be president back in 2000—but [Trump] was of course the most absurd placeholder joke name that we could think of at the time, and that’s still true.” he replied. “It’s beyond satire.”
So now the real question, with Trump as president, who be our Lisa?
You can watch the full episode on Simpsons World.
