Simpsons writer Al Jean reacts to show's 'prediction' of Kamala Harris as president: 'I’m proud'

A Simpsons writer is celebrating Kamala Harris’ campaign for president and his show’s inexplicable gift of prophecy.

Following President Biden’s announcements that he will step out of the presidential race and endorse Vice President Harris for the Democratic nomination on Sunday, Simpsons showrunner Al Jean posted a side-by-side photo of adult Lisa Simpson and Harris wearing nearly identical outfits. “@TheSimpsons ‘prediction’ I’m proud to be a part of,” he wrote on X. 

In the photo, both Lisa and Harris are wearing a bright purple coat, a pearl necklace, and matching pearl earrings. The photo of Harris comes from her inauguration as Vice President in January 2021, while the image of Lisa is from an episode from The Simpsons’ 11th season titled “Bart to the Future,” which sees a future version of the family’s eldest daughter as the President of the United States.

Bizarrely, the parallels don’t end there. In the episode, Lisa’s tenure as commander-in-chief comes after a then-fictional Donald Trump presidency that had disastrous implications for the country’s economy, just as Harris’ vice presidency followed the unfortunately real Trump term. “It was a warning to America,” Dan Greaney, the only credited writer on the episode, told THR in 2016. “And that just seemed like the logical last stop before hitting bottom. It was pitched because it was consistent with the vision of America going insane.”

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Jean, who currently serves as the showrunner for The Simpsons and has served in various writing and producing capacities since its earliest seasons, has expressed strong support for Harris’ candidacy on social media, and also joked, “Trump should take a cognitive test asking him to correctly differentiate Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi, Usha Vance and Nikki Haley.”

Numerous other entertainers have also embraced Harris as the presumed Democratic nominee, including Cardi B, Jamie Lee Curtis, Spike Lee, and Jon Cryer. Prominent Democratic politicians like Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, and the vast majority of Congressional Democrats have all endorsed Harris as well. Even Trump (and his daughter Ivanka) supported Harris in the past, donating to her reelection campaign when she ran for California attorney general (though she didn’t keep the money).