Did 'The Simpsons' predict 2020 elections? Fans shocked by alignment of blue and red states in 2012 episode
When 'The Simpsons' predicted that Donald Trump would one day be the president of the United States, it all looked like a hilarious joke. Until, of course, it came true. With the latest 31st edition of the show's annual Halloween-themed episode, 'Treehouse of Horror', the show 'prediction' of what may happen if you don't vote, seems to foretell the real nightmare that is the elections. As Homer (Dan Castellaneta) remains unsure about who to vote for, Lisa (Yeardley Smith) shows up to remind her father of every scandal the nation's current president has been involved in since 2016 - without directly taking his name.
But what is spooking fans now is the resurgence of an eight-year-old clip that showed a bunch of red and blue states split in the US.
As America and the world await results of the high stakes election with neither Donald Trump nor Joe Biden having reached the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House, an old episode of the Simpsons has reemerged to show that the series had made another freakish prediction years ago. This clip from "Treehouse of Horror XXIII" shows an election map with a similar party split to that of Biden and Trump in the 2020 race.
In the episode, Mr Burns endorses Mitt Romney in the 2012 election against Barack Obama. He then says, "Hereβs only one thing that may deny us the presidency, which is the God-given property of the Republican party," as he walks over to show a map of the US depicting the divided red and blue states and how they voted in the elections. Fans of the show were quick to point out that this was almost similar to the current electoral map - a sight that we have been witnessing since Tuesday.
At first, it was unbelievable for fans to arrive at the conclusion. "Bro this is almost the Presidential election 2020 map π³," a viewer commented on the clip, "Yo how is this even freaking possible!?!?!" said another shocked viewer. "AYOO?? WHY IS THIS IDENTICAL TO THE CURRENT MAP???," concurred another.
At the same time, it has gotten many fans applauding the show for getting it right yet again. "Bro the Simpsons really do predict everything," one wrote on Twitter. "the simpsons predicted the #Election2020 omg... itβs literally the same thing" added another.
Bro the Simpsons really do predict everything pic.twitter.com/mMbNvHMm18
β β’οΈ (@xdamutd) November 6, 2020
the simpsons predicted the #Election2020 omg... itβs literally the same thing pic.twitter.com/9yWC9YXUUd
β bt (@aotdts) November 6, 2020
This video was resurfaced by a TikTok user who drew the similarities. "OK if he's not a time traveller then wow,"one said when sharing the video on Twitter.
OK if he's not a time traveller then wow π pic.twitter.com/bTnpgbGyw9
β Princess N8 π (@N8Tube) November 5, 2020
At the same time, many others pointed out that the blue and the red states are historically often aligned that way. One wrote on Twitter, "I mean its pretty simple to predict sometimes which of them are liberal or conservative states, i dont blame the simpsons for doing good research." "It's fun to see if the Simpsons can predict stuff but, you can (with an educated guess) assume which states would be red and which would be blue x3," another agreed. Yet another viewer rained on the parade by saying, "You mean the Simpsons predicted that the states that usually vote blue would vote blue and the states that usually vote red were projected to vote red?? *Let me act shocked*"
I mean its pretty simple to predict sometimes which of them are liberal or conservative states, i dont blame the simpsons for doing good research https://t.co/4vor7FVHLS
β A S H (@ashflorendooo) November 6, 2020
It's fun to see if the Simpsons can predict stuff but, you can (with an educated guess) assume which states would be red and which would be blue x3
β ShushuntMew (@ShushuntMew) November 6, 2020
You mean the Simpsons predicted that the states that usually vote blue would vote blue and the states that usually vote red were projected to vote red?? *Let me act shocked*
β Sarah (@Ss49342207) November 6, 2020