Emperor Trump gets disrobed by ‘South Park’
They said last year they were done with Donald Trump. They didn’t know what more they could say about him.
But in the return to the airwaves of Comedy Central stalwart South Park — the first episode since March 2023 — the creators of the irreverent, long-running cartoon series just couldn’t resist.
Trump is skewered for his connections to Jeffrey Epstein, and he is depicted as a man who has lined the walls of the White House with naked photos of himself. He’s also portrayed as being in a relationship with the Devil, who is concerned Trump is starting to act a lot like one of his former lovers, Saddam Hussein. “It’s weird that whenever [the Epstein list] comes up, you just tell everyone to relax,” the Devil tells Trump.
It’s the latest sign that Trump has lost control of the Epstein narrative, and that the saga has broken Washington containment and permeated deep into popular culture. That makes it the worst kind of White House mess.
South Park, which has aired since 1997 and just premiered its 27th season, has over the years become a boundary-pushing, comedic touchstone. It has mercilessly mocked political figures including Al Gore, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. It frequently offends viewers of all political stripes — among other things, it portrays the Devil as sensitive and emotionally mature and regularly critiques organized religion — and it remains an essential part of the American comedy landscape. Its creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, just signed a five-year deal with Paramount reportedly worth $1.5 billion.
The show — which isn’t explicitly ideological and is more anti-establishment in tone, often delighting in puncturing political correctness — has gone after Trump before. But not so clearly or directly. Its latest attack on the president puts it in the company of many other comedians or online influencers who have been teeing off on Trump over Epstein in recent weeks — prima facie evidence that Trump has misread the priorities of the young men who powered him back into office. [Continue reading…]