The Simpsons aren’t afraid to get political. Two years ago they published a heartwarming photo of the citizens of Springfield holding up a Puerto Rican flag in support after Hurricane Maria. They later crafted a video where local bar owner Moe Syzslak (voiced by Hank Azaria) takes potshots at President Donald Trump, and collected donations for UNICEF.
Now, The Simpsons are back with a short that puts the Congressional women of color in the driver’s seat. The brief clip, animated in The Simpsons’ inimitable style, sees Trump sitting at his desk looking for a distraction from the issues regarding the economy and his ongoing trade war with China.
He picks up a picture of Democratic Reps Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib and sings to the tune of West Side Story‘s “America.” “They shouldn’t be in America … no taxes for me in America,” he sings. The four women come out of the photo and tell him, “We’re more American than your wife,” later singing in unison that “Your nose is right up Putin’s ass. We say it’s time to impeach you fast.”
The quartet then breaks into a dance number before being joined by all the Democratic presidential candidates in a big chorus line. You can catch glimpses of an animated Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. Trump soon joins the chorus line before passing out on the White House lawn.
The short certainly takes aim at Trump’s racist comments regarding the four female representatives of color. But the use of the song “America” is a bit jarring considering the criticisms of it lobbed for years. Suni Reyes’ excellent parody video on the song is still true, and director Steven Spielberg doesn’t seem to have any good response for critics’ comments about his new adaptation of the Broadway play.
At least we get to see these amazing WOC reclaim “America” to promote something positive. The song may be flawed, but the issues in the Simpsons video are important no matter what.
[h/t: The Hill]
