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‘The Simpsons’ predicted Kamala Harris’ presidential run: A look at the show’s history of forecasting

BBG News

As a longtime fan of “The Simpsons,” I’ve been absolutely fascinated by the uncanny ways in which this animated series has predicted real-life events. Growing up, I remember watching episodes and chuckling at the satirical take on current issues. But little did I know that some of these episodes would turn out to be more than just clever writing – they would become prophetic.

Over the course of its impressive 35-season run and 768 episodes, “The Simpsons,” America’s longest-running animated series on TV, has uncannily foreshadowed future events. Some attribute this to the writers’ clairvoyance, while others view it as a fascinating coincidence. For those in the former camp: Yet another seemingly prophetic instance has surfaced.

After I learned that President Biden had concluded his reelection bid on Sunday, paving the way for Vice President Harris to potentially take his place as the Democratic nominee, I couldn’t help but notice the striking similarity between an outfit donned by Harris and Lisa Simpson.

In the “Bart to the Future” episode aired in 2000, The Simpsons series takes us forward in time to depict a future scenario where Lisa is the first female president of the United States. She delivers a national address while wearing a purple suit and accessorizing with her iconic pearl necklace and earrings.

During Biden and Harris’s inauguration in 2021, I noticed that the vice president wore a nearly identical purple coat, accessorized with a similar necklace, and pearl earrings that reminded me of a character from “The Simpsons” named Lisa. Longtime writer and executive producer Al Jean fueled this theory on X by sharing his pride in being involved in making this prediction come true.

We’ll find out in November if President Lisa Simpson paved the way for President Kamala Harris to take office.

Certain supporters argue that “The Simpsons” foresaw the Biden-Harris ticket in 2019 by depicting them together amongst the Democratic nominees.

Here’s a look back at some of the animated classic’s best predictions.

Trump’s presidency and reelection campaign: “Bart to the Future” (2000)

In the eleventh season episode titled “Bart to the Future,” Lisa takes on the role of President Trump’s successor during a cabinet meeting discussion. The show portrays Trump as a third-party candidate from the “Reform” party who managed to secure the presidency, similar to his real-life 2016 election victory.

In 2015, Jean brought up a snapshot from an episode she had seen, featuring a “Trump 2024” campaign sign prominently displayed in the background. Her observation proved prescient as Trump indeed announced his intention to run for reelection in 2024.

The Super Bowl champions … three years in a row: “Lisa the Greek” (1992)

Following a unfortunate football bet outcome, Homer seeks Lisa’s advice for selecting the next game’s victor. When she accurately guesses the Miami Dolphins, Homer becomes more confident in her predictions and wagers more on subsequent matches. However, they experience a disagreement prior to the Super Bowl, preventing Lisa from disclosing the winning team to Homer.

I recently watched a movie that came out right before Super Bowl XXVI. In this film, the Washington Commanders triumphantly defeat the Buffalo Bills. Amazingly enough, this was an accurate portrayal of what happened in the actual game, where Washington took home the trophy.

In the next year, the very same episode was broadcast featuring the teams from Super Bowl XXVII. This revised edition depicted the Dallas Cowboys triumphing over the Bills, an outcome that truly transpired in real life.

The “Simpsons” writing team made another attempt the next year, forecasting that the Cowboys would once more triumph over the Bills in a football game. And they were right on the money with their prediction.

United States curling wins Olympic gold medal: “Boy Meets Curl” (2010)

Back in Season 21, when this episode initially came out, just one American curling team had managed to win an Olympic medal. In “Boy Meets Curl,” Homer and Marge unexpectedly found a knack for curling, and, together with Agnes and Seymour Skinner, they made it to Team USA for the Vancouver Olympics.

In their debut Olympic appearance for the sport, the American team surprisingly outperformed Sweden and secured the U.S.’s initial gold medal. Previously, at the 2010 Winter Olympics, no American team managed to finish in the top three positions. Additionally, Team USA came up empty-handed during the 2014 Sochi Games. However, at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, the losing streak was finally broken as the men’s team clinched the gold medal.

FIFA corruption scandal and the World Cup winner: “You Don’t Have to Live Like a Referee” (2014)

As a devoted film enthusiast and avid “Simpsons” fan, I couldn’t help but notice how the show’s creators have an uncanny ability to predict real-life events, especially when it comes to sports. In Season 25, they tackled soccer in an episode that left me speechless. Unintentionally, they tapped into the drama surrounding this beloved sport, making it all the more captivating for us viewers.

In the fictional series “The Simpsons,” FIFA, soccer’s international authority, is portrayed as riddled with corruption leading to the arrest of its vice president. Simultaneously, in reality, FIFA was being probed by the FBI and IRS around the same time. It later emerged that FIFA had accepted over $150 million in bribes between 2011 and 2014.

The organization was allegedly involved in corruption through bribery, deceitful business practices, and money laundering. Subsequently, law enforcement officials apprehended 41 individuals in connection with these alleged offenses.

It’s worth noting that the notion of scandal in FIFA, as portrayed in “The Simpsons,” wasn’t entirely unexpected. In fact, back in 2011, a member of FIFA’s executive committee was convicted for taking bribes and was subsequently banned from the organization. The ethics committee initiated an internal probe into corruption claims the very next year.

An “episode of The Simpsons” features a fictionalized World Cup final between Germany and Brazil, with Germany coming out on top. In reality, these teams faced off in the 2014 World Cup semifinals, and history repeated itself as Germany defeated Brazil, as portrayed in the show. Ultimately, Germany secured the victory in the World Cup championship, aligning with The Simpsons’ forecast.

Bengt Holmström wins Nobel Prize: “Elementary School Musical” (2010)

In the opening episode of Season 22, titled “Elementary School Musical,” Milhouse and Lisa engage in a wager over the Nobel Prize winners. Milhouse puts his faith in Finnish economist Bengt Holmström, predicting him to be the laureate for economics.

Six years later, the real Holmström won the Nobel Prize for economics for the contract theory.

Video calls and smart watches: “Lisa’s Wedding” (1995)

In Season 6’s episode, “The Simpsons” are taken to the year 2010. This forward leap in time allows the writers some creative freedom for forecasting. Two of their predictions surprisingly came true.

In the show’s episode, an adult Lisa uses video call technology to reach Marge. Although video calling was theoretically possible in the last century, it wasn’t a common option for most people.

Fittingly, Apple announced the first version of FaceTime in 2010.

I was intrigued by the technology predictions in the show, and it didn’t end there. Back then, in 2013, my fiancé’s watch from the series became a reality when Intel introduced a timepiece equipped with voice recognition features, much like today’s smartwatches.

COVID-19: “Marge in Chains” (1993)

In the fourth season episode of Springfield, locals clamor for a remedy after an outbreak of the “Osaka Flu” sickness. During this scene, one character accidentally knocks over a crate with the warning label “Killer Bees.” seventeen years later, viewers were struck by the resemblance to the “murder hornets,” which emerged in the United States in 2020.

It has been suggested that the episode foreshadowed certain aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, unlike COVID-19, the Osaka flu virus in this context was a lab-created virus originating from Japan.

Following the widespread popularity of the 2020 prophecies on Twitter, Bill Oakley, who penned the 1993 episode, admitted: “Alright, I suppose we did.”

Electronic voting machine troubles: “Treehouse of Horror XIX” (2008)

As a movie enthusiast, I’d put it like this: In the weeks leading up to the 2008 presidential election, I eagerly awaited The Simpsons’ annual Halloween special. And what a twist it turned out to be! Right at the start, we saw the family heading to the polling station. In that Season 20 episode, as I watched Homer approach the electronic voting machine, I held my breath. He wanted to cast his vote for Barack Obama, but to my shock, the machine registered a vote for John McCain instead! Frustrated, Homer tried to correct the error, but ended up casting six votes for McCain inadvertently. What a rollercoaster of an opening scene that was!

In the presidential election between Obama and Mitt Romney that took place afterward, a voter in Pennsylvania recorded a video of an issue with an electronic voting machine where his vote for one candidate was incorrectly registered as a vote for the other candidate.

Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl LI halftime performance: “Lisa Goes Gaga” (2012)

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In the final episode of Season 23, Lady Gaga makes an appearance as a quirky guest star. She notices Lisa seems down and decides to help, imparting valuable lessons about self-confidence to the sad cartoon character.

In this episode, Gaga delivers an exhilarating act at lofty heights. During her 2017 Super Bowl show, reality mirrored art as Gaga leaped off the stadium rooftop and glided above the audience for a stunning entrance.

NSA listening in on civilians: “The Simpsons Movie” (2007)

“The Simpsons Movie” finds the family on the run after Homer accidentally contaminates the town.

When Springfield faced the danger of being wiped out, the family made an effort to go back and protect their hometown. However, their schemes were disrupted when the National Security Agency employed a robotic duplicate to monitor them and eavesdrop on their strategies – defying Marge’s previous belief that the government did not invade citizens’ privacy.

Approximately five years ago, Edward Snowden disclosed classified information exposing the NSA’s practice of surveilling Americans’ personal phone calls.

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2024-07-26 14:20

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