'Simpsons' Showrunner Slams Ted Cruz for Claiming Homer, Bart, Marge Would Have Voted for Trump
The annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is in full swing, attracting conservative politicians, personalities and voters from across the country. On Thursday Texas sentator Ted Cruz was one of the featured guests, and he used his appearance to drop some pop culture knowledge.
"The Democrats are the party of Lisa Simpson and Republicans are happily the party of Homer, Bart, Maggie and Marge," Cruz said of the classic animated family from The Simpsons. (How he was able to discern the apparent voting preferences of infant Maggie, we'll never know.)
Cruz's observation caught the attention of Al Jean, showrunner for the classic animated comedy. And Jean made it pretty clear he did not appreciate it by tweeting a solid joke in response. "Ted Cruz says Maggie Simpson would vote for him. I think Ted's the one who could use a pacifier in his mouth," he posted.
Jean followed that tweet with another that referenced The Simpsons' infamously cold-hearted billionaire Mr. Burns. "The way things are going even Mr. Burns is thinking of becoming a Democrat," he posted.
.@TheSimpsons Ted Cruz says Maggie Simpson would vote for him.
— Al Jean (@AlJean) February 22, 2018
I think Ted's the one who could use a pacifier in his mouth.
.@TheSimpsons The way things are going even Mr. Burns is thinking of becoming a Democrat.
— Al Jean (@AlJean) February 22, 2018
Other folks on Twitter were quick to rail against Cruz co-opting The Simpsons for the GOP's purposes. They pointed out, for instance, that in a storyline that creepily predicted the future, Lisa inherited the presidency (and a budget crisis) from none other than Donald Trump. Some referenced another famous scene, in which a Republican convention depicted on The Simpsons had banners reading "We want what's worst for everyone" and "We're just plain evil."
Republicans in The Simpsons. pic.twitter.com/kXUhRsKPs1
— Nick de Semlyen (@NickdeSemlyen) February 22, 2018
Cruz was even personally attacked by the show itself, in a video titled "The Debateful Eight," posted in February 2016 during the presidential election. In the clip, Cruz gets his shirt pulled over his head by Trump while John Kasich punches him.
Despite all the ribbing, the Texas senator has apparently maintained his affinity for The Simpsons.
In April 2016, Good Morning America shared a video of Cruz doing impressions of Lisa, Homer and others from the show. Let's just say they're not exactly spot-on. In fact, it's more like Cruz just repeats Simpsons quotes with a slight change to his voice. Points for effort, I guess?
