‘The Simpsons’ Predicted Kamala Harris’ Presidential Race: Let’s Take a Look at the Show’s History of Predicting Outcomes

Throughout its 768 episodes and 35 seasons on television, “The Simpsons,” America’s longest-running animated series, has made unsettlingly accurate predictions about the future. Whether the writers are using a crystal ball or it’s just a funny coincidence is a matter of debate. For believers: Another coincidence — or prediction — has come to light.

After President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign on Sunday, clearing the way for Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him as the Democratic nominee, X users were quick to point out the uncanny similarity between the outfit worn by Harris and Lisa Simpson.

In the 2000 episode “Bart to the Future,” the animated series travels to the future where Lisa is the first female president of the United States. She is seen addressing the nation in a purple suit with a classic pearl necklace and pearl earrings.

At Biden and Harris’ 2021 inauguration, the vice president wore a nearly identical purple coat with a similar necklace and matching pearl earrings. Longtime “Simpsons” writer and executive producer Al Jean played into the X-Theory, writing that the Harris-Lisa union is a prediction he’s “proud to be a part of.”

The world will have to wait until November to see if President Lisa Simpson has set the stage for a Kamala Harris presidency.

Some fans also claim that The Simpsons predicted the outcome of the 2019 election, as the duo ended up next to each other among all the Democratic Party candidates.

Here are the best predictions from the classic cartoon.

Trump Presidency and Re-election Campaign: “Bart to the Future” (2000)

In the same season 11 episode, “Bart to the Future”, Lisa is shown to be the successor to President Donald Trump (as discussed during a Cabinet meeting). Trump is shown to be a third-party “Reform” candidate who won the election, just like in 2016.

Jean also shared a still from the 2015 episode, which features a “Trump 2024” banner in the background, accurately predicting that Trump would run for president in 2024.

Super Bowl Champions… Three Years in a Row: “Lisa the Greek” (1992)

After an unsuccessful football bet, Homer turns to Lisa for help in picking the winner of the next game. When she correctly predicts the Miami Dolphins, Homer begins placing even more bets on future games. The duo had a falling out before the Super Bowl, and Lisa failed to tell Homer which team would win.

The show, aired just days before Super Bowl XXVI, featured the Washington Commanders defeating the Buffalo Bills. Of course, Washington won the trophy in a real game.

The following year, the same episode aired with the Super Bowl XXVII teams. The updated episode shows the Dallas Cowboys defeating the Bills, which actually happened.

The Simpsons writers tried their luck again the following year, predicting that the Cowboys would beat the Bills again. They were right.

United States Curling Wins Olympic Gold: “Boy Meets Curl” (2010)

When this Season 21 episode first aired, only one American curling team had ever won a medal at the Olympics. In “Boy Meets Curl,” Homer and Marge discover a talent for curling and, along with Agnes and Seymour Skinner, qualify for the U.S. team at the Vancouver Olympics.

Despite being new to the sport, the team defeats Sweden and wins the first gold medal for the U.S. In the real 2010 Winter Olympics, no American team finished in the top three. The U.S. team also failed to win a medal at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. At the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, the American losing streak ended, and the men’s team finally won gold.

FIFA Corruption Scandal and World Cup Winner: “You Don’t Have to Live Like a Referee” (2014)

In the football-themed episode of Season 25, The Simpsons creative team once again inadvertently played the role of sports oracle, this time in a somewhat dramatic situation.

In “The Simpsons,” corruption runs rampant at FIFA, ultimately resulting in the arrest of the vice president of world soccer’s governing body. At the same time, the real FIFA was under investigation by the FBI and the IRS. In 2015, it was revealed that the organization had accepted more than $150 million in bribes.

The organization was accused of bribery, fraud and money laundering, and police ultimately made 41 arrests.

Of course, The Simpsons’ take on a FIFA scandal wasn’t entirely unexpected. In 2011, an executive committee member was found guilty of accepting bribes and was expelled from the organization. The following year, the organization’s ethics committee began an internal investigation into allegations of corruption.

The Simpsons episode also shows the World Cup final between Germany and Brazil, with Germany emerging victorious. The two teams played each other in the semi-finals of the 2014 World Cup, and, as shown on The Simpsons, Germany defeated Brazil. Germany also won the World Cup, as predicted on the show.

Bengt Holmström receives the Nobel Prize: “Elementary School Musical” (2010)

In the Season 22 premiere, “Elementary School Musical,” Milhouse and Lisa bet on the Nobel Prizes. Milhouse chooses Finnish economist Bengt Holmström to receive the economics prize.

Six years later, the real Holmström received the Nobel Prize in Economics for his contract theory.

Video Calls and Smartwatches: “Lisa’s Wedding” (1995)

This episode of Season 6 takes The Simpsons into the future: 2010. The concept of a future episode gives the show’s writers a great opportunity to make a few predictions, and two major ones turned out to be accurate.

In the episode, adult Lisa calls Marge via video call. While video calls technically existed in the 20th century, they weren’t available to the average person.

Ironically, Apple announced the first version of FaceTime in 2010.

The tech prophecies didn’t stop there. Lisa’s fiancé talks to his watch, similar to today’s smartwatches. In 2013, the show’s device finally came to life when Intel unveiled a watch with voice recognition.

COVID-19: “Marge in Chains” (1993)

When the citizens of Springfield demand a cure for the disease known as “Osaka Flu” that has gripped the city in this episode of Season 4, a character knocks over a box labeled “Killer Bees.” Fast forward 17 years, and viewers couldn’t help but notice the similarities to the “murder hornets” that invaded the U.S. in 2020.

Some say the episode also predicted the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike COVID-19, the Osaka flu virus was man-made in Japan.

After the 2020 prediction went viral on Twitter, Bill Oakley, the writer of the 1993 episode, responded, “OK, fine, I guess we did.”

Electronic Voting Machine Trouble: “Treehouse of Horror XIX” (2008)

Airing just two days before the 2008 presidential election, the annual Halloween special began with a voting scene. In this episode of Season 20, Homer is seen using an electronic machine at the polls. When he tries to vote for Democratic candidate Barack Obama, the machine registers his vote for Republican candidate John McCain. He tries to correct this error and ends up voting Republican six times.

During the next presidential election between Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney, a Pennsylvania voter posted a video on his website showing a malfunctioning electronic voting machine that changed his vote.

Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl LI Halftime Performance: “Lisa Goes Gaga” (2012)

In the Season 23 finale, guest star Lady Gaga brings her eccentric style to Springfield. Noticing that Lisa is down, Gaga takes her under her wing to teach her confidence.

The episode features Gaga’s soaring performance. Life imitated art during her 2017 Super Bowl performance, when Gaga jumped off the stadium roof and floated above the crowd during her entrance.

NSA Eavesdropping on Civilians: “The Simpsons Movie” (2007)

In The Simpsons, the family flees after Homer accidentally pollutes the town.

With Springfield threatened with destruction, the family tries to return and save the city, but their plans go awry when the National Security Agency uses a robot clone to spy on them and listen in on their plans—despite Marge’s earlier assurances that the government is not listening to citizens’ conversations.

Five years later, whistleblower Edward Snowden released documents showing that the NSA had been monitoring the private communications of Americans.