The Simpsons Almost Didn’t Predict Trump Would Be President (And Their Original Pick Was Unbelievable)

For years, many fans have believed that The Simpsons can predict the future. For decades, the Fox animated series has had the uncanny ability to make jokes that would sometimes come true, such as Donald Trump becoming President of the United States. While not every prediction comes true when it’s made in Springfield, a long-time showrunner on the series has spoken about the joke that might have started it all. In a surprising twist, Trump wasn’t originally meant to be the butt of the original joke that examined Lisa Simpson’s tenure as President, but instead, another celebrity was thrown into the mix.

With long-time showrunner Al Jean set to depart The Simpsons next month, he recently took part in an interview with MIT Technology Review to discuss the series’ past predictions. In an eye-popping moment, Jean discussed how Trump wasn’t originally mentioned by President Lisa Simpson, “It definitely got huge when Donald Trump was elected president in 2016 after we “predicted” it in an episode from 2000. The original pitch for the line was Johnny Depp and that was in for a while, but it was decided that it wasn’t as funny as Trump.”

Jean continued, “What people don’t remember is that in the year 2000, it wasn’t such a crazy name to pick, because Trump was talking about running as a Reform Party candidate. So, like a lot of our “predictions,” it’s an educated guess. I won’t comment on whether it’s a good thing that it happened, but I will say that it’s not the most illogical person you could have picked for that joke. And we did say that following him was Lisa, and now that he’s been elected again, we could still have Lisa next time—that’s my hope!”

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Following the Presidential prediction talk, Al Jean also shared which predictions still freak him out to this day, “There are a couple of really bizarre coincidences. There was a brochure in a New York episode [which aired in 1997] that said “New York, $9” next to a picture of the trade towers looking like an 11. That was nuts. It still sends chills down me. The writer of that episode, Ian Maxtone-Graham, was nonplussed. He really couldn’t believe it.”

Jean also dismissed the idea that thanks to the writers’ background, they had an inside knowledge of world events, “It’s not like we would’ve made that knowing what was going to come, which we didn’t. And people have advanced conspiracy theories that we’re all Ivy League writers who knew … it’s preposterous stuff that people say. There’s also a thing people do that we don’t really love, which is they fake predictions. So after something happens, they’ll concoct a Simpsons frame, and it’s not something that ever aired.” With the thirty-seventh season of the series now in full swing, it will be interesting to see if the animated show has any other tricks up its sleeve.

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Via MIT Technology Review