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American animated sitcom The Simpsons seemingly predicted a female figure such as Kamala Harris as the American President more than two decades ago. In the 17th episode of season 11, titled “Bart to the Future,” aired in March 2000, the Fox satirical American drama showed Lisa Simpson as the President of the USA.
On July 21, in the wake of Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 presidential election and the presumptive nomination of Kamala Harris in his place, the internet dug up The Simpsons episode and pointed out the striking similarities with real life at present.
The now-viral video showed Lisa Simpson dressed in the signature Kamala Harris pantsuit and pearls while sitting in the Oval Office and talking to her staff, comprising of Secretary Van Houten and her brother Bart Simpson, working as the White House freeloader.
“As you know, we have inherited quite a budget crunch from President Trump. How bad is it Secretary Van Houten?” Lisa Simpson asked.
In response, Secretary Houten showed a presentation and claimed, “We are broke!” to which Lisa Simpson replied, “The country is broke? How can that be?”
Since excerpts from The Simpsons episode garnered severe traction, it has led to a meme fest. An X user claimed that the cartoon series was being “prophetic.”
Several others joined in the conversation and have had hilarious reactions. Many continued to claim that the show’s predictions were often “accurate.”
“Me watching the Simpsons to find what would be happening next,” another person wrote.
“Simpsons predictions always accurate,” a person wrote.
Others speculated that the cartoon series’ prediction in this particular case was destined to fail, adding that if it does become true, it would be like a “simulation.”
“I am not with Simpsons in this one,” a netizen wrote.
“Except this time their prediction is gonna fail,” another netizen wrote.
“Man if the Simpsons come through with another prediction I’ll be convinced we’re in a simulation,” a user wrote.
Fans of the show even united to laud the creators, adding that they were all ahead of their time.
“The Simpsons writers are from the future lol,” an individual wrote.
“The Simpsons writers are the real time travelers fr,” another individual wrote.
Exploring some of The Simpsons’ political predictions
In the March 2000 episode, “Bart to the Future,” where Lisa Simpsons appeared as the USA’s first female President, she told her staff how her predecessor, President Trump, left behind a budget deficit.
In real life, Donald Trump became the 45th U.S. President from 2016 to 2020. Not only that but during his presidency, the country's stock market witnessed some of its largest single-day losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In another 2008 episode, titled “Treehouse of Horror XIX,” Homer tried to vote for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on an EVM. However, the device showed that the vote was cast for his Republican opponent, John McCain, over six times.
In real life, during Barack Obama’s second-term reelection in 2012, several news outlets, including MSNBC, reported that an EVM did not register votes for Obama but rather for his conservative opponent, Mitt Romney.
Besides, during two separate episodes from 1996, the cartoon series seemingly predicted the 9/11 terror attacks as well as an assassination attempt during a campaign rally, like the one that happened with Donald Trump in Pennsylvania earlier this month.
One of the original writers, AI Jean, claimed that it wasn't hard to make "educated guesses" after writing hundreds and thousands of episodes, including the World Trade Center episode showing a brochure with $9 a day with an 11-shaped like the Twin Towers or the "Lisa the Iconoclast episode."
In it, Lisa Simpsons discovered that Springfield's founder was a murderer who took a shot at George Washington. As she stood at a podium in a political rally to tell the residents the truth, a law enforcement officer tried to aim for her life but failed.
Now, it remains to be seen whether The Simpsons’ predictions from 2000 that the USA would have its first female President come true or not.
