Sen. Ted Cruz thinks most of The Simpson’s cartoon family would be Republicans.
“I think the Democrats are the party of Lisa Simpson, and Republicans are happily the party of Homer and Bart and Maggie and Marge,” Cruz said at the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, on Thursday.
The comment referenced a 1997 episode of The Simpsons in which Homer stakes out a pro-gun position while Lisa supports gun control, saying the Second Amendment is a remnant from the Revolutionary War that “has no meaning today.”
In response, The Simpson’s showrunner, Al Jean, ridiculed Cruz, The Washington Post reports.
Cruz, who opposes gun control, claims that most of the Simpson’s family would be aligned with the Republican Party in the gun debate. Jean fired back on Twitter, suggesting that Cruz is “the one who could use a pacifier in his mouth” rather than Maggie, the Simpson’s family baby. He went on to say, “The way things are going even Mr. Burns is thinking of becoming a Democrat,” a reference to the rich owner of the power plant where Homer Simpson works.
.@TheSimpsons Ted Cruz says Maggie Simpson would vote for him.
I think Ted's the one who could use a pacifier in his mouth.— Al Jean (@AlJean) February 22, 2018
Jean argued that Lisa, if in the real world, would try to get Cruz to change opposition to gun control. Meanwhile, Marge would say voting is a private matter and Homer would joke that the last time he voted was a decade ago for American Idol.
Of course, this isn’t the first time The Simpsons have crossed over into real day politics. Sixteen years ago the show actually predicted a Trump presidency, albeit that then-fictional presidency ended with the country going broke and Lisa taking over as the country’s first female president.
