Dan Greaney, an Emmy-winning writer for “The Simpsons” who penned the episode that anticipated a Donald Trump presidency more than a decade before it happened, has launched his own campaign for the White House in 2028.
Mr. Greaney announced his candidacy Tuesday in an Instagram video, dressed in a flowing robe, gray beard and wig, declaring that “Judgment Day is here” before stripping off the prophet costume to reveal a business suit underneath. “Screw it, I can be a politician,” he said. “I’m running for president. My platform: America for all.”
Mr. Greaney identifies as a “progressive Republican,” according to Newsweek, which cited his Instagram bio.
A graduate of Harvard University and its law school, Mr. Greaney is a longtime comedy writer best known for his work on “The Simpsons” and “The Office.” He worked as an attorney before joining “The Simpsons” as a writer from Season 7 through Season 11.
His fame as a political oracle stems from “Bart to the Future,” broadcast in March 2000, in which an adult Lisa Simpson appears as “America’s first female president” and inherits a “budget crunch from President Trump.” Mr. Greaney told The Hollywood Reporter in 2016 that making Trump president in the episode “just seemed like the logical last stop before hitting bottom” and that it was “pitched because it was consistent with the vision of America going insane.”
In his announcement video, Mr. Greaney trained his criticism on both parties, accusing President Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and “billionaires, careerists and cowards in both parties” of turning their backs on the country. On his campaign website, he wrote: “The Republican establishment empowered Trump, the Democrats failed to stand up to him or for us, so I’m not leaving it in their hands.”
His platform calls for expanding the Supreme Court from nine to 13 justices, reducing the influence of money in politics through a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, universal health care, a Green New Deal initiative and measures aimed at improving housing affordability.
According to Federal Election Commission data, Mr. Greaney filed his candidacy on April 19. A press release from his campaign described his candidacy as “an attempt to bridge entrenched divisions and to speak to a broader sense of shared national purpose.”
This article was constructed with the assistance of artificial intelligence and published by a member of The Washington Times’ AI News Desk team. The contents of this report are based solely on The Washington Times’ original reporting, wire services, and/or other sources cited within the report. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Steve Fink, Director of Artificial Intelligence, at sfink@washingtontimes.com
The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.
