Joe Biden’s midweek announcement that Kamala Harris would be his running mate and vice presidential candidate for the Democratic Party drew criticism from a very predictable place: the re-election campaign of president Donald Trump. But one unique criticism drew the ire of a very famous American woman: the cartoon character Marge Simpson.
The news made many immediately tie Harris’ good fortune to that of Maya Rudolph, who is almost certain to play her on Saturday Night Live quite often this fall. But a Trump surrogate made an intentionally negative comparison between Harris and Marge Simpson, the beloved matriarch on The Simpsons.
Jenna Ellis — the Trump campaign’s senior legal advisor and one of the president’s attorneys — tweeted that Harris sounded like Marge, later clarifying to make it clear that wasn’t a compliment. The tweet drew some considerable blowback, especially considering how beloved Marge is to a lot of Simpsons fans. And the show itself felt it necessary to give Marge her own response, animating and voice acting it in record time to address the comparison on Friday.
Marge Simpson has something to say. pic.twitter.com/viux96bAPf
— TheSimpsons (@TheSimpsons) August 14, 2020
“I usually don’t get into politics, but the president’s senior adviser Jenna Ellis just said Kamala Harris sounds like me.”
Marge said she was told by Lisa, her daughter, that “she didn’t mean it as a compliment,” then brought up a familiar campaign angle for Trump: that “suburban housewives” love him and will vote for him.
“As an ordinary suburban housewife,” Marge said. “I’m starting to feel a little disrespected.”
The video shows Marge in an otherwise empty audotorium with a lone spotlight on her. And it ended with a bit more fire than Marge simply being disappointed.
“I teach my children not to name call Jenna,” Marge said before adding. “I was gonna say I’m pissed off, but I’m afraid they’d bleep it.”