‘It’s Not a Joke’: A ‘Simpsons’ Writer Holds His First Presidential Campaign Rally

On a sunny Friday day successful a parkland overlooking the Silver Lake Reservoir successful Los Angeles, astir 30 people—including 3 successful costume arsenic Uncle Sam, Darth Vader, and Elsa from Frozen—gathered to perceive the archetypal authoritative stump code of Dan Greaney, campaigner for the 2028 US statesmanlike election.

“My chap Americans,” Greaney began, lasting astatine a lectern successful beforehand of a enactment of American flags flapping successful a airy breeze. After this opening, helium added, “Yeah, let’s spell with that. It’s a classic.”

That self-aware small speech is the benignant of happening you’d expect from a seasoned TV writer who has worked connected The Simpsons since its aureate epoch successful the 1990s. Apart from penning classical episodes similar "Summer of 4 Ft. 2" and “King-Size Homer,” Greaney is besides known for penning “Bart to the Future,” a flash-forward episode, primitively aired successful 2000, successful which Lisa Simpson is the recently inaugurated US president and struggling with a fiscal messiness near down by her predecessor. “As you know, we've inherited rather a fund crunch from President Trump," she explains.

Because of that joke, Greaney is often credited with predicting the existent Trump’s improbable emergence to the White House. “It was a informing to America,” helium told The Hollywood Reporter aboriginal successful the 2016 predetermination cycle. “It was pitched due to the fact that it was accordant with the imaginativeness of America going insane.”

For months now, Greaney has been leaning into his “Prophet” change ego, posting Instagram videos of himself predicting the downfall of Trump and his allies successful an Old Testament-style grey beard and wig. On Friday, however, helium wore the much accepted suit and necktie of a person moving for office. And his connection was earnest.

“It's beauteous ridiculous for maine to beryllium moving for president,” helium said. “It's the benignant of happening that a cartoon dada mightiness do—somebody like, you know, Peter Griffin,” helium said with a smile, referencing the patriarch of Family Guy alternatively than Homer Simpson. Yet, Greaney went connected to say, helium was moved to basal up for the values that helium believes astir Americans inactive share. “I deliberation ideology is nether attack, and successful galore ways [has] been demolished by a rogue Supreme Court, by a lawless president, and by the cliques of billionaires that they enactment for,” helium told the crowd, mostly made up of friends and colleagues successful entertainment.

“It's not a joke,” Greaney said of his campaign, contempt his agelong vocation successful drama going each the mode backmost to a stint arsenic president of the Harvard Lampoon. (He has besides worked arsenic a writer and practiced law.) “Comedy isn't conscionable astir laughter,” helium continued. “Comedy is astir truth. And astatine The Simpsons, 1 of the things we each tried to bash was to accidental the information astir American life, to look down the humbug and hoopla and accidental the information astir America with emotion and wit successful a mode that radical saw and connected to, and that is what I anticipation to bash here.”

“So, yes, it is simply a spot absurd, but it's not a joke,” helium reiterated. “And, successful fact, it's an enactment of conscience.”

Greaney concluded his ain remarks by saying, “I invitation you each to articulation my question and make an America that works for all, including Darth Vader.”