'Simpsons' prediction fails for once as Kamala Harris loses presidential election
The Simpsons, renowned for its knack for predicting future events, missed the mark on one high-profile forecast.
The animated series' prediction that Kamala Harris would become the next US president did not come true, with Donald Trump clinching the 2024 election on Wednesday, reports the New York Post.
The prediction originated from the 2000 episode "Bart to the Future", where Lisa Simpson became the first female US president, taking office after a tumultuous Trump presidency.
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In the episode, Lisa, dressed in a purple outfit strikingly similar to the ensemble Harris wore at the 2021 inauguration, quips, "We've inherited quite a budget crunch from President Trump."
In real life, Kamala Harris, 60, became the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee after replacing Joe Biden, who opted not to run. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz joined Harris on the ticket as her vice-presidential choice.
However, they lost to Trump, now 78, and his new running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, who secured key swing states, including North Carolina, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, to reach the crucial 270 electoral votes. As ballots continue to be counted, Trump is leading in the popular vote as well.
Fans of The Simpsons quickly reacted to the unfulfilled prediction. "For the first time ever, The Simpsons got it wrong," one fan tweeted, while another asked, "So does this mean The Simpsons episode 'predictions' gonna come to an end since Kamala didn't win?"
Known for its uncanny ability to predict major events, The Simpsons has previously foreshadowed Trump's 2016 presidency, the Capitol riot, the coronavirus pandemic, Disney's purchase of 20th Century Fox, and even Lady Gaga's Super Bowl halftime show.
Matt Groening, the show's creator, explained the Trump presidency prophecy in a 2016 interview with The Guardian, "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. It's beyond satire."
Showrunner Matt Selman recently spoke about The Simpsons' seemingly prophetic powers. "Well, the sourpuss answer I always give that no one likes is that if you study history and math, it would be literally impossible for us not to predict things," Selman told People.
"If you say enough things, some of them are going to overlap with reality… And then, the history element is if you make a show that is based on studying the past foolishness of humanity, you are surely going to anticipate the future foolishness of humanity."
Selman also pointed out that the only aspect The Simpsons writers dislike is "when viewers put obviously fake images online and say we predicted things that we didn't."
The Simpsons, now in its 36th season, airs Sundays on Fox at 8pm ET.
