Trey Parker, co-creator of South Park, has talked about how President Donald Trump “think his job is to be the joker” while explaining their continuing criticism of him.
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The satirical Paramount+ show aimed most of the jokes in recent seasons at the politician, depicting him in a relationship with Satan, having a micro penis, and having sex with Vice President J.D. Vance.
Last July, The White House hit back, saying in a statement: “This show hasn’t been relevant for over 20 years” which, according to creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, motivated them to make him a running part of the show.
On May 20, the pair recorded a video spot for the 19th Television Academy Honours in Hollywood. As reported by Variety, they talked about the importance of comedy in television, and how their decision to include Trump in South Park reflected the changing nature of the establishment that has pushed against them since their debut in 1998.
“For 30 years, you’ve always had some group trying to tell you what you can and can’t say,” Parker said. “And that group has changed. That group has been liberal. That group’s been Republican. We’ve always known that our job was, we’re supposed to be the joker. You need that. You need someone just making fun of things. It’s a great thing to be able to be. And unfortunately, right now, we have a president who thinks his job is to be the joker.”
Stone added: “And so that’s why we dove into the [27th and 28th] season and actually put Trump in there and Jesus and started talking about Christian nationalism and all that stuff. Because we had to let people know, for better or worse, if you like it or you don’t, it’s like, this is us, ok? No one’s telling us [what to do].” A new season of the show is scheduled to air in September.