🕷️ Crawler Inspector

URL Lookup

Direct Parameter Lookup

Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 99 (from laksa075)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa099.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/aug/23/south-park-trump\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/aug/23/south-park-trump\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2025\/aug\/23\/south-park-trump","crawl_time":1774359869,"first_indexed_time":1755939782,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,theguardian!www,\/tv-and-radio\/2025\/aug\/23\/south-park-trump s443","src_root_hash":"4161074618625082499","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"South Park has become the most important TV show of the Trump 2.0 era | South Park | The Guardian","meta_descriptions":["This season of the long-running animated sitcom has aimed its ire at the cruelty and stupidity of an administration others have found hard to successfully ridicule"],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"I\n’ll admit it: I’m more of a\nSimpsons\nguy than a\nSouth Park\nguy. Nothing really against those South Park guys – I’ve caught plenty of episodes over its astonishing near-30-year run, and loved the 1999 big-screen movie. But while I haven’t always maintained clockwork viewership of The Simpsons, either, those characters have proved durable enough to revive my interest in episodes old and new. South Park has a thinner bench by comparison, and as the show itself astutely pointed out years ago, it’s difficult for a satirically minded animated sitcom to explore ground that The Simpsons hasn’t covered already. South Park’s political bent, too, has often seemed less varied than the warmer (but still sometimes cutting) social ribbing of Matt Groening’s signature show. It’s a fine line between omnidirectional satire and libertarian crankiness.\nAnd yet the\n27th season of South Park\nhas accomplished something vanishingly few of its peers, whether in animation or topical comedy, have been able to do: getting laughs taking shots at the second\nTrump administration\n. It’s not that the White House is beyond reproach. Quite the opposite problem, much-documented: the\nDonald Trump\ncabal is so outsized in its stupidity and cruelty that it’s hard to distend it into a “funny” caricature, even a bleak one. In Trump’s second term, it has only gotten bleaker; jokes that were worn out by the end of 2020 are getting retold with a nasty vengeance, and the bar for cathartic laughter has been raised considerably.\nFor a comedy fan, this winds up translating to an aversion. The occasional shots taken by The Simpsons somehow don’t land as squarely as they did when aimed at presidents I liked much, much more. I watch\nSaturday Night Live\nevery week, and mostly dread James Austin Johnson’s accurate but ultimately defanged\nimpression\n. (Some weeks, Johnson himself seems bummed out to be doing it.) I respect the hell out of Stephen Colbert, but I have never sought out his Trump commentary; I don’t need any more clapter – the reaction encouraged by comedy that wants your approval more than your laughter – in my life. South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone seemed to agree; Parker’s 2017 announcement that they’d grown bored of taking shots at Trump – then barely into his first presidential term – was one of the show’s\nmany controversies\nover the years.\nSo how is it that South Park’s revived anti-Trump blows this season have managed to land? A big part of it is precisely Stone and Parker’s allergy to clapter and the grandstanding that inspires it. They obviously resent anything they read as putting on airs and sometimes in the past, this came across as its own form of preachiness, with “everybody chill”-style speeches at an episode’s end that would secretly sound just as prescriptive as the self-righteousness they wanted to send up. With their most recent Trump parody, though, there isn’t much moralizing – just gratifyingly mean caricatures of deserving figures such as Trump,\nJD Vance\nand the homeland security secretary,\nKristi Noem\n. Some (not all) of their past roastings have verged on point-and-laugh bullying; here are targets worthy of that derision.\nSome of this derision speaks through the language of South Park itself. Trump isn’t vocally or visually imitated; he’s depicted in a series of repurposed photos, with the same voice and animation technique that Parker and Stone used to bring Saddam Hussein to life in the South Park movie. He’s also given the same sexual partner: a\nmuscled-up and put-upon version of Satan\n, who has found himself in another toxic relationship. Calling Trump a wannabe dictator doesn’t break new ground, but there’s something satisfying in Stone and Parker using their personal toolkit to draw a line between Trump and Saddam; if they thought it was a histrionic comparison, they’d be making fun of it instead of making it. Similarly, there’s real spite animating the depiction of Noem as a\ndog-murdering\nzealot whose glamorous face needs to be repeatedly lacquered and reaffixed to her head as she commands an army of Immigration and Customs Enforcement thugs.\nNot all of the season’s satire has involved making real-life figures regulars on the show. Because South Park’s ensemble has rarely felt as vast or believably developed as Springfield of The Simpsons (or even Arlen on King of the Hill), it’s also flexible enough to turn Randy, Stan’s desperately trend-following dad, into a ketamine-microdosing, tech-bro moron addicted to the soothing, empty reassurances of ChatGPT – the focus of\nthe most recent episode\n, to the point where most of the core child cast doesn’t appear. Surprisingly, this season has deployed forever favorite Cartman more sparingly so far, again getting self-referential in the season’s second episode, where the id-driven and arguably evil little kid is incensed to find out that podcasters have stolen his “shtick” – his pervasive hatefulness, repackaged as a challenge to debate where the aggressor is always the self-appointed winner. Ascribing this “master debater” title to Cartman (alongside a fellow kid serving as an obvious Charlie Kirk\/Ben Shapiro stand-in) somehow manages to make this ridiculous behavior funny in its petty smallness without glorifying it.\nA South Park diehard would probably describe this praise as a fair-weather fan only enjoying the show when it goes after the “right” targets. Maybe that’s true, but it’s also a lot easier to take some joy in savaging Vance as a meme-faced version of a Fantasy Island sidekick than, say, accusing George Lucas and Steven Spielberg of cultural rape. It’s probably wishful thinking to wonder if Parker and Stone might actually move the needle of the perception on tech bros, debate-me podcasters and Trump-world ghouls, especially among the dude demo. But it’s also just a blessed change of pace to see say-anything, first-amendment types finding a fresher target than the wokeness bogeyman. While countless standups continue to whine about being silenced, Parker and Stone seem highly aware of their rarified position (and, as\nParamount\ncontractors, also\naware\nof what actual political-corporate\ninterference\nlooks like). In a world where Trump’s actual political opponents seem terrified to actually fight him, some well-deserved, point-and-laugh meanness has become a surprising novelty.","attrs_markdown":"![](https:\/\/sb.scorecardresearch.com\/p?c1=2&c2=6035250&cv=2.0&cj=1&cs_ucfr=0&comscorekw=tv-and-radio)\n\n[Skip to main content](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2025\/aug\/23\/south-park-trump#maincontent)[Skip to navigation](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2025\/aug\/23\/south-park-trump#navigation)\n\nClose dialogue\n\n1\/1\n\nNext image\n\nPrevious image\n\nToggle caption\n\n[Skip to navigation](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2025\/aug\/23\/south-park-trump#navigation)\n\n[Print subscriptions](https:\/\/support.theguardian.com\/subscribe\/weekly?REFPVID=mn4o1xvaq1db62h7andv&INTCMP=undefined&acquisitionData=%7B%22source%22%3A%22GUARDIAN_WEB%22%2C%22componentId%22%3A%22PrintSubscriptionsHeaderLink%22%2C%22componentType%22%3A%22ACQUISITIONS_HEADER%22%2C%22referrerPageviewId%22%3A%22mn4o1xvaq1db62h7andv%22%2C%22referrerUrl%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2025%2Faug%2F23%2Fsouth-park-trump%22%7D)\n\n[Search jobs](https:\/\/jobs.theguardian.com\/)\n\n[Sign in](https:\/\/profile.theguardian.com\/signin?INTCMP=DOTCOM_NEWHEADER_SIGNIN&ABCMP=ab-sign-in&componentEventParams=componentType%3Didentityauthentication%26componentId%3Dguardian_signin_header)\n\nEur\n\n- [Europe edition](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/preference\/edition\/eur)\n- [UK edition](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/preference\/edition\/uk)\n- [US edition](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/preference\/edition\/us)\n- [Australia edition](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/preference\/edition\/au)\n- [International edition](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/preference\/edition\/int)\n\n[The Guardian - Back to homeThe Guardian](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/)\n\n- [News](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/)\n- [Opinion](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/commentisfree)\n- [Sport](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport)\n- [Culture](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/culture)\n- [Lifestyle](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/lifeandstyle)\n\nShow more\n\nHide expanded menu\n\n- News\n  - [View all News](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/)\n  - [World news](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world)\n  - [UK news](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/uk-news)\n  - [Climate crisis](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/climate-crisis)\n  - [Ukraine](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/ukraine)\n  - [Environment](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment)\n  - [Science](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/science)\n  - [Global development](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/global-development)\n  - [Football](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/football)\n  - [Tech](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology)\n  - [Business](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/business)\n  - [Obituaries](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/obituaries)\n- Opinion\n  - [View all Opinion](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/commentisfree)\n  - [The Guardian view](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/profile\/editorial)\n  - [Columnists](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/index\/contributors)\n  - [Cartoons](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tone\/cartoons)\n  - [Opinion videos](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/type\/video+tone\/comment)\n  - [Letters](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tone\/letters)\n- Sport\n  - [View all Sport](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport)\n  - [Football](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/football)\n  - [Cricket](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/cricket)\n  - [Rugby union](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/rugby-union)\n  - [Tennis](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/tennis)\n  - [Cycling](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/cycling)\n  - [F1](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/formulaone)\n  - [Golf](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/golf)\n  - [US sports](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/us-sport)\n- Culture\n  - [View all Culture](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/culture)\n  - [Books](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/books)\n  - [Music](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/music)\n  - [TV & radio](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio)\n  - [Art & design](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign)\n  - [Film](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/film)\n  - [Games](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/games)\n  - [Classical](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/music\/classicalmusicandopera)\n  - [Stage](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/stage)\n- Lifestyle\n  - [View all Lifestyle](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/lifeandstyle)\n  - [Fashion](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/fashion)\n  - [Food](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/food)\n  - [Recipes](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tone\/recipes)\n  - [Love & sex](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/lifeandstyle\/love-and-sex)\n  - [Health & fitness](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/lifeandstyle\/health-and-wellbeing)\n  - [Home & garden](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/lifeandstyle\/home-and-garden)\n  - [Women](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/lifeandstyle\/women)\n  - [Men](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/lifeandstyle\/men)\n  - [Family](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/lifeandstyle\/family)\n  - [Travel](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/travel)\n  - [Money](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/money)\n  - [Support us](https:\/\/support.theguardian.com\/?INTCMP=side_menu_support&acquisitionData=%7B%22source%22:%22GUARDIAN_WEB%22,%22componentType%22:%22ACQUISITIONS_HEADER%22,%22componentId%22:%22side_menu_support%22%7D)\n  - [Print subscriptions](https:\/\/support.theguardian.com\/subscribe\/weekly?REFPVID=mn4o1xvaq1db62h7andv&INTCMP=undefined&acquisitionData=%7B%22source%22%3A%22GUARDIAN_WEB%22%2C%22componentId%22%3A%22PrintSubscriptionsHeaderLink%22%2C%22componentType%22%3A%22ACQUISITIONS_HEADER%22%2C%22referrerPageviewId%22%3A%22mn4o1xvaq1db62h7andv%22%2C%22referrerUrl%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2025%2Faug%2F23%2Fsouth-park-trump%22%7D)\n- - [Search jobs](https:\/\/jobs.theguardian.com\/)\n  - [Holidays](https:\/\/holidays.theguardian.com\/?INTCMP=holidays_int_web_newheader)\n  - [Digital Archive](https:\/\/theguardian.newspapers.com\/)\n  - [Guardian Licensing](https:\/\/licensing.theguardian.com\/)\n  - [Live events](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/guardian-live-events?INTCMP=live_eur_header_dropdown)\n  - [About Us](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/about)\n  - [The Guardian app](https:\/\/app.adjust.com\/16xt6hai)\n  - [Video](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/video)\n  - [Podcasts](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/podcasts)\n  - [Pictures](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/inpictures)\n  - [Newsletters](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/email-newsletters)\n  - [Today's paper](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/theguardian)\n  - [Inside the Guardian](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/insidetheguardian)\n  - [Guardian Weekly](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/weekly?INTCMP=gdnwb_mawns_editorial_gweekly_GW_TopNav_Int)\n  - [Crosswords](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/crosswords)\n  - [Wordiply](https:\/\/www.wordiply.com\/)\n  - [Corrections](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/theguardian\/series\/corrections-and-clarifications)\n  - [Tips](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tips)\n- - [Search jobs](https:\/\/jobs.theguardian.com\/)\n  - [Holidays](https:\/\/holidays.theguardian.com\/?INTCMP=holidays_int_web_newheader)\n  - [Digital Archive](https:\/\/theguardian.newspapers.com\/)\n  - [Guardian Licensing](https:\/\/licensing.theguardian.com\/)\n  - [Live events](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/guardian-live-events?INTCMP=live_eur_header_dropdown)\n  - [About Us](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/about)\n\n- [Books](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/books)\n- [Music](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/music)\n- [TV & radio](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio)\n- [Art & design](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign)\n- [Film](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/film)\n- [Games](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/games)\n- [Classical](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/music\/classicalmusicandopera)\n- [Stage](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/stage)\n\n![animated satan next to trump](https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/b354c1bf94283e821ad8f4ba99741b98a9e96fd5\/833_0_2596_2078\/master\/2596.jpg?width=465&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)\n\nA still from South Park. Photograph: Comedy Central\n\n[View image in fullscreen](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2025\/aug\/23\/south-park-trump#img-1)\n\nA still from South Park. Photograph: Comedy Central\n\n[South Park](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/south-park)\n\nThis article is more than **6 months old**\n\n# South Park has become the most important TV show of the Trump 2.0 era\nThis article is more than 6 months old\n\n[Jesse Hassenger](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/profile\/jesse-hassenger)\n\nThis season of the long-running animated sitcom has aimed its ire at the cruelty and stupidity of an administration others have found hard to successfully ridicule\n\nSat 23 Aug 2025 11.02 CEST\n\nLast modified on Mon 25 Aug 2025 20.08 CEST\n\nShare\n\nI’ll admit it: I’m more of a [Simpsons](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/the-simpsons) guy than a [South Park](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/south-park) guy. Nothing really against those South Park guys – I’ve caught plenty of episodes over its astonishing near-30-year run, and loved the 1999 big-screen movie. But while I haven’t always maintained clockwork viewership of The Simpsons, either, those characters have proved durable enough to revive my interest in episodes old and new. South Park has a thinner bench by comparison, and as the show itself astutely pointed out years ago, it’s difficult for a satirically minded animated sitcom to explore ground that The Simpsons hasn’t covered already. South Park’s political bent, too, has often seemed less varied than the warmer (but still sometimes cutting) social ribbing of Matt Groening’s signature show. It’s a fine line between omnidirectional satire and libertarian crankiness.\n\nAnd yet the [27th season of South Park](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2025\/jul\/26\/south-park-history-controversy-trump) has accomplished something vanishingly few of its peers, whether in animation or topical comedy, have been able to do: getting laughs taking shots at the second [Trump administration](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/trump-administration). It’s not that the White House is beyond reproach. Quite the opposite problem, much-documented: the [Donald Trump](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/donaldtrump) cabal is so outsized in its stupidity and cruelty that it’s hard to distend it into a “funny” caricature, even a bleak one. In Trump’s second term, it has only gotten bleaker; jokes that were worn out by the end of 2020 are getting retold with a nasty vengeance, and the bar for cathartic laughter has been raised considerably.\n\n[![Randy and Stan Marsh in the South Park episode Sickofancy.](https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/be451fc82a0a0950bb9be9dcc288381b05a410f2\/356_0_1688_1350\/master\/1688.jpg?width=460&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=0f8c9a717adb0ed6225c7a463987467e)Satire at its finest: South Park takes on Trump’s martial takeover, AI and tech bros Read more](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2025\/aug\/21\/south-park-takes-on-trumps-martial-takeover-ai-and-tech-bros)\n\nFor a comedy fan, this winds up translating to an aversion. The occasional shots taken by The Simpsons somehow don’t land as squarely as they did when aimed at presidents I liked much, much more. I watch [Saturday Night Live](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/saturday-night-live) every week, and mostly dread James Austin Johnson’s accurate but ultimately defanged [impression](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2021\/nov\/07\/saturday-night-live-trump-james-austin-johnson-kieran-culkin). (Some weeks, Johnson himself seems bummed out to be doing it.) I respect the hell out of Stephen Colbert, but I have never sought out his Trump commentary; I don’t need any more clapter – the reaction encouraged by comedy that wants your approval more than your laughter – in my life. South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone seemed to agree; Parker’s 2017 announcement that they’d grown bored of taking shots at Trump – then barely into his first presidential term – was one of the show’s [many controversies](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2025\/jul\/26\/south-park-history-controversy-trump) over the years.\n\nSo how is it that South Park’s revived anti-Trump blows this season have managed to land? A big part of it is precisely Stone and Parker’s allergy to clapter and the grandstanding that inspires it. They obviously resent anything they read as putting on airs and sometimes in the past, this came across as its own form of preachiness, with “everybody chill”-style speeches at an episode’s end that would secretly sound just as prescriptive as the self-righteousness they wanted to send up. With their most recent Trump parody, though, there isn’t much moralizing – just gratifyingly mean caricatures of deserving figures such as Trump, [JD Vance](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2025\/aug\/07\/south-park-anti-deportation-episode-ice) and the homeland security secretary, [Kristi Noem](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/aug\/08\/homeland-security-kristi-noem-south-park). Some (not all) of their past roastings have verged on point-and-laugh bullying; here are targets worthy of that derision.\n\nSome of this derision speaks through the language of South Park itself. Trump isn’t vocally or visually imitated; he’s depicted in a series of repurposed photos, with the same voice and animation technique that Parker and Stone used to bring Saddam Hussein to life in the South Park movie. He’s also given the same sexual partner: a [muscled-up and put-upon version of Satan](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2025\/jul\/24\/south-park-most-furious-episode-ever-the-jaw-dropping-satanic-takedown-of-donald-trump), who has found himself in another toxic relationship. Calling Trump a wannabe dictator doesn’t break new ground, but there’s something satisfying in Stone and Parker using their personal toolkit to draw a line between Trump and Saddam; if they thought it was a histrionic comparison, they’d be making fun of it instead of making it. Similarly, there’s real spite animating the depiction of Noem as a [dog-murdering](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/books\/2024\/apr\/26\/trump-kristi-noem-shot-dog-and-goat-book) zealot whose glamorous face needs to be repeatedly lacquered and reaffixed to her head as she commands an army of Immigration and Customs Enforcement thugs.\n\n[![South Park Sermon on the Mount](https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/fb168fdd444a31cb75f9753e368a058805e09c4c\/493_0_2347_1878\/master\/2347.jpg?width=460&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=20a80e700d147cb5ee7b72972c2708de)Lewd, crude and politically astute: South Park’s history of controversy Read more](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2025\/jul\/26\/south-park-history-controversy-trump)\n\nNot all of the season’s satire has involved making real-life figures regulars on the show. Because South Park’s ensemble has rarely felt as vast or believably developed as Springfield of The Simpsons (or even Arlen on King of the Hill), it’s also flexible enough to turn Randy, Stan’s desperately trend-following dad, into a ketamine-microdosing, tech-bro moron addicted to the soothing, empty reassurances of ChatGPT – the focus of [the most recent episode](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2025\/aug\/21\/south-park-takes-on-trumps-martial-takeover-ai-and-tech-bros), to the point where most of the core child cast doesn’t appear. Surprisingly, this season has deployed forever favorite Cartman more sparingly so far, again getting self-referential in the season’s second episode, where the id-driven and arguably evil little kid is incensed to find out that podcasters have stolen his “shtick” – his pervasive hatefulness, repackaged as a challenge to debate where the aggressor is always the self-appointed winner. Ascribing this “master debater” title to Cartman (alongside a fellow kid serving as an obvious Charlie Kirk\/Ben Shapiro stand-in) somehow manages to make this ridiculous behavior funny in its petty smallness without glorifying it.\n\nA South Park diehard would probably describe this praise as a fair-weather fan only enjoying the show when it goes after the “right” targets. Maybe that’s true, but it’s also a lot easier to take some joy in savaging Vance as a meme-faced version of a Fantasy Island sidekick than, say, accusing George Lucas and Steven Spielberg of cultural rape. It’s probably wishful thinking to wonder if Parker and Stone might actually move the needle of the perception on tech bros, debate-me podcasters and Trump-world ghouls, especially among the dude demo. But it’s also just a blessed change of pace to see say-anything, first-amendment types finding a fresher target than the wokeness bogeyman. While countless standups continue to whine about being silenced, Parker and Stone seem highly aware of their rarified position (and, as [Paramount](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/culture\/2025\/jul\/19\/paramount-cbs-trump) contractors, also [aware](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2025\/jul\/24\/south-park-trump-paramount) of what actual political-corporate [interference](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/media\/2025\/jul\/02\/paramount-settles-with-trump-for-16m-over-60-minutes-interview-with-kamala-harris) looks like). In a world where Trump’s actual political opponents seem terrified to actually fight him, some well-deserved, point-and-laugh meanness has become a surprising novelty.\n\nExplore more on these topics\n\n- [South Park](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/south-park)\n- [Animation on TV](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/animation)\n- [TV comedy](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/comedy)\n- [Comedy](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/culture\/comedy)\n- [Television](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/culture\/television)\n- [US television](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/us-television)\n- [Donald Trump](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/donaldtrump)\n- [comment](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tone\/comment)\n\nShare\n\n[Reuse this content](https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2025%2Faug%2F23%2Fsouth-park-trump&type=article&internalpagecode=tv-and-radio\/2025\/aug\/23\/south-park-trump \"Reuse this content\")\n\n### Most viewed\n- [![](https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/500108cd775f15cb9f5b64b8aaa97c36d853bede\/103_0_2154_1723\/master\/2154.jpg?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none) US quadruple amputee cornhole champion arrested on suspicion of murder](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/mar\/24\/amputee-cornhole-player-arrested)\n- [![](https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/53a518d2d5a65abf2d275052b522ae7e0402cce7\/366_0_3655_2924\/master\/3655.jpg?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none) Molly Miller, ‘pretty privilege’ and women’s basketball’s beauty trap](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/2026\/mar\/24\/molly-miller-arizona-state-university-basketball)\n- [![](https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/60a255ba80e680da37d92b3a7532ad95f5f609cd\/2128_389_3437_2751\/master\/3437.jpg?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none) Behind the rise of Clavicular and ‘looksmaxxing’ there are insecure young men who feel they don’t measure upJason Okundaye](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/society\/commentisfree\/2026\/mar\/24\/clavicular-insecure-young-men-looksmaxxing)\n- [![](https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/896d84533ce42fcb1d038292185bc768f4500450\/962_0_6830_5464\/master\/6830.jpg?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none) LiveMiddle East crisis live: Pakistan reportedly favouring Vance for role in possible US-Iran peace talks](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/live\/2026\/mar\/24\/iran-war-live-updates-trump-ursula-von-der-leyen-oil-prices-energy-crisis-israel-strikes)\n- [![](https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/f868a652078dac0f90df268a30fb5b872c5f4b4f\/224_0_1350_1080\/master\/1350.jpg?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none) The ‘self-deportee’ hounded out of the US to Mexico: ‘There are days when I feel literally insane’](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/ng-interactive\/2026\/mar\/24\/self-deportation-los-angeles-mexico-trump-immigration)\n\n## Related stories\n## Related stories\n- ![](https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/57a4486d762c962e1d1432faa5c39169d0249b5d\/294_0_3000_2400\/master\/3000.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4)\n  \n  ### Donald Trump and JD Vance have graphic sex (in South Park)\n  13 Nov 2025\n- ![](https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/d836bfe4c4378e557e72530a0d2f0c686472007f\/286_0_1349_1080\/master\/1349.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4)\n  \n  ### A South Park Halloween: latest episode destroys Trump over White House demolition\n  1 Nov 2025\n- ![](https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/76a59729a1e116afe29f4ee17af20173b5651718\/0_0_2765_2212\/master\/2765.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4)\n  \n  ### ‘Explicit and outrageous’: South Park is back with its most gratuitous episode since naked Trump\n  16 Oct 2025\n- ![](https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/550bd061b8b5dcffea4602d928f078bfb3e62887\/273_0_2730_2184\/master\/2730.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4)\n  \n  ### They’ve finally gone there: South Park lets rip at Benjamin Netanyahu\n  25 Sept 2025\n- ![](https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/be451fc82a0a0950bb9be9dcc288381b05a410f2\/356_0_1688_1350\/master\/1688.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4)\n  \n  ### Satire at its finest: South Park takes on Trump’s martial takeover, AI and tech bros\n  21 Aug 2025\n- ![](https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/fb168fdd444a31cb75f9753e368a058805e09c4c\/493_0_2347_1878\/master\/2347.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4)\n  \n  ### Lewd, crude and politically astute: South Park’s history of controversy\n  26 Jul 2025\n- ![](https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/2b9425ced15758b2bb32f4d15961a7a7c594874e\/221_0_1535_922\/master\/1535.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4)\n  \n  ### South Park pandemic special: a biting and surprisingly affecting satire\n  2 Oct 2020\n- ![](https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/c78e37bb636dfe8690f4a2e7158a1f3cfed695f7\/43_0_1292_775\/master\/1292.png?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4)\n  \n  ### New season of South Park takes aim at white supremacy\n  13 Sept 2017\n\n## More from culture\n## More from culture\n- ![](https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/dc2a186e4738c68d6395aa1ca47d513406651bfe\/0_1001_2775_2219\/master\/2775.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4)\n  \n  ### BooksEnough Said by Alan Bennett review – a man for all seasons\n  5h ago\n- ![](https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/7123022afb5a835bf270484aea508c6eb4d28c35\/327_0_2917_2334\/master\/2917.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4)\n  \n  ### MusicManchester’s Strange Quarter is alive with creativity. Can it survive a 130-hectare redevelopment?\n  3h ago\n  \n  [18 18 comments](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/music\/2026\/mar\/24\/manchester-strange-quarter-creativity-130-hectare-redevelopment#comments)\n- ![](https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/ea58f382a48fb4b226ccbf0b401656df48cc177e\/2869_2956_5518_4415\/master\/5518.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4)\n  \n  ### Stage‘It shook the plaster off the ceiling’: Self Esteem and David Hare on reviving rock romp Teeth ‘n’ Smiles\n  22h ago\n- ![](https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/a00b1862fae0ee4d5f1c46c951faf54eaa636bc3\/61_0_7200_5760\/master\/7200.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4)\n  \n  ### The Peaky Blinders film is pandering to these populist times – I should know, the Nazi in it is my father\n  5h ago\n  \n  [282 282 comments](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/commentisfree\/2026\/mar\/24\/peaky-blinders-film-populist-times-nazi-father-world-war-two-film#comments)\n- ![](https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/37e1129af67b9609b1565b821f4d28da29118bfd\/463_0_4919_3936\/master\/4919.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4)\n  \n  ### How we made‘Audiences told us we didn’t show enough teacher sex’: how we made Waterloo Road\n  23h ago\n  \n  [25 25 comments](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/culture\/2026\/mar\/23\/how-we-made-waterloo-road-twenty-years-on-bbc#comments)\n- ![](https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e437499e267ddc10f2d6d20b01801746a0778e00\/0_668_3328_2662\/master\/3328.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4)\n  \n  ### StageDario Fo at 100: a deliriously funny playwright with a deadly serious purpose\n  9h ago\n  \n  [25 25 comments](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/stage\/2026\/mar\/24\/dario-fo-at-100-a-deliriously-funny-playwright-with-a-deadly-serious-purpose#comments)\n\n## Most viewed\n## Most viewed\n- [Most viewed Across the Guardian](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2025\/aug\/23\/tabs-popular-0)\n- [Most viewed in Television & radio](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2025\/aug\/23\/tabs-popular-1)\n\n### Most viewed Across the\\&nbsp;Guardian\n1. [LiveMiddle East crisis live: Pakistan reportedly favouring Vance for role in possible US-Iran peace talks](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/live\/2026\/mar\/24\/iran-war-live-updates-trump-ursula-von-der-leyen-oil-prices-energy-crisis-israel-strikes)\n2. [US quadruple amputee cornhole champion arrested on suspicion of murder](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/mar\/24\/amputee-cornhole-player-arrested)\n3. [Irish metals refinery is in supply chain that feeds Russian war machine, records suggest](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/mar\/24\/irish-metals-refinery-is-in-supply-chain-that-feeds-russian-war-machine-records-suggest)\n4. [Bets on US-Iran ceasefire show signs of insider knowledge, say experts](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/mar\/23\/bets-us-iran-ceasefire-show-signs-of-insider-knowledge-say-experts-polymarket)\n5. [‘I’d smoke Biscoff if I could’: how a little Belgian biscuit became a social media sensation](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/food\/2026\/mar\/24\/biscoff-belgian-biscuit-viral-social-media-sensation-recipes)\n6. [‘It smells like a rancid fish and chip shop’: at sea with the Antarctic’s krill supertrawlers](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2026\/mar\/24\/krill-foundation-food-antarctic-ecosystem-survive-factory-fishing)\n7. [‘Luxury takes time. We don’t have time’: The former top military officer on a mission to fix the Dutch housing crisis](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/society\/2026\/mar\/23\/former-top-military-officer-elanor-boekholt-osullivan-mission-fix-dutch-housing-crisis)\n8. [The global authoritarian right loves Orbán – and that could cost him in Hungary’s elections](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/commentisfree\/2026\/mar\/24\/viktor-orban-hungary-elections-global-authoritarian-right)\n9. [Prisoner number 804: the plot to erase Imran Khan](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/mar\/24\/prisoner-number-804-pakistan-plot-to-erase-imran-khan)\n10. [Behind the rise of Clavicular and ‘looksmaxxing’ there are insecure young men who feel they don’t measure up](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/society\/commentisfree\/2026\/mar\/24\/clavicular-insecure-young-men-looksmaxxing)\n\n### Most viewed in Television & radio\n1. [Clash of the Superpowers: America vs China review – Trump vomits all over Norma Percy’s film](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2026\/mar\/23\/clash-of-the-superpowers-america-vs-china-review-trump-norma-percy-film)\n2. [Reacher star Alan Ritchson filmed allegedly assaulting neighbor](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/film\/2026\/mar\/23\/actor-alan-ritchson-alleged-neighbor-assault-video)\n3. [Bafta TV awards 2026 nominations: full list](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2026\/mar\/24\/bafta-tv-awards-2026-nominations-full-list)\n4. [Adolescence dominates Bafta TV award nominations 2026](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2026\/mar\/24\/adolescence-dominates-bafta-tv-award-nominations-2026)\n5. [TV tonight: Martin Clunes is Huw Edwards in a one-off scandal drama](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2026\/mar\/24\/tv-tonight-martin-clunes-is-huw-edwards-in-a-one-off-scandal-drama)\n6. [Mafs expert Mel Schilling shares terminal cancer diagnosis: ‘I don’t know how long I have left’](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2026\/mar\/13\/mafs-mel-schilling-health-terminal-cancer-diagnosis)\n7. [Jane Fonda’s life goes under the microscope: best podcasts of the week](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2026\/mar\/23\/jane-fondas-life-goes-under-the-microscope-best-podcasts-of-the-week)\n8. [‘There’s no way back for him’: Martin Clunes on playing Huw Edwards in a controversial new drama](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2026\/mar\/20\/power-the-downfall-of-huw-edwards-martin-clunes-interview-drama-channel-5)\n9. [Saturday Night Live UK review – it didn’t fail and it could have been a lot worse](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/culture\/2026\/mar\/22\/saturday-night-live-uk-review-it-didnt-fail-and-it-could-have-been-a-lot-worse)\n10. [John Oliver on police stings: ‘might actually be doing more harm than good’](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2026\/mar\/23\/john-oliver-police-stings)\n\n- [Books](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/books)\n- [Music](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/music)\n- [TV & radio](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio)\n- [Art & design](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign)\n- [Film](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/film)\n- [Games](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/games)\n- [Classical](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/music\/classicalmusicandopera)\n- [Stage](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/stage)\n\n- [News](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/)\n- [Opinion](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/commentisfree)\n- [Sport](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport)\n- [Culture](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/culture)\n- [Lifestyle](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/lifeandstyle)\n\nOriginal reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning\n\n[Sign up for our email](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/global\/2022\/sep\/20\/sign-up-for-the-first-edition-newsletter-our-free-news-email)\n\n- [About us](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/about)\n- [Help](https:\/\/manage.theguardian.com\/help-centre)\n- [Complaints & corrections](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/info\/complaints-and-corrections)\n- [Contact us](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/help\/contact-us)\n- [Tip us off](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tips)\n- [SecureDrop](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/securedrop)\n- [Privacy policy](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/info\/privacy)\n- [Cookie policy](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/info\/cookies)\n- [Tax strategy](https:\/\/uploads.guim.co.uk\/2025\/09\/05\/Tax_strategy_for_the_year_ended_31_March_2025.pdf)\n- [Terms & conditions](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/help\/terms-of-service)\n\n- [All topics](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/index\/subjects\/a)\n- [All writers](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/index\/contributors)\n- [Newsletters](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/email-newsletters?INTCMP=DOTCOM_FOOTER_NEWSLETTER_EUROPE)\n- [Digital newspaper archive](https:\/\/theguardian.newspapers.com\/)\n- [Bluesky](https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/theguardian.com)\n- [Facebook](https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/theguardian)\n- [Instagram](https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/guardian)\n- [LinkedIn](https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/theguardian)\n- [Threads](https:\/\/www.threads.com\/@guardian)\n- [TikTok](https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@guardian)\n- [YouTube](https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/TheGuardian)\n\n- [Advertise with us](https:\/\/advertising.theguardian.com\/)\n- [Search UK jobs](https:\/\/jobs.theguardian.com\/)\n- [Tips](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tips)\n- [Accessibility settings](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/help\/accessibility-help)\n- [Work with us](https:\/\/workwithus.theguardian.com\/)\n\nSupport the Guardian\n\nAvailable for everyone, funded by readers\n\n[Support us](https:\/\/support.theguardian.com\/?INTCMP=footer_support&acquisitionData=%7B%22source%22:%22GUARDIAN_WEB%22,%22componentType%22:%22ACQUISITIONS_FOOTER%22,%22componentId%22:%22footer_support%22%7D)\n\n[Back to top](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2025\/aug\/23\/south-park-trump#top)\n\n© 2026 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.\n\n(dcr)","attrs_readable_markdown":"I’ll admit it: I’m more of a [Simpsons](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/the-simpsons) guy than a [South Park](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/south-park) guy. Nothing really against those South Park guys – I’ve caught plenty of episodes over its astonishing near-30-year run, and loved the 1999 big-screen movie. But while I haven’t always maintained clockwork viewership of The Simpsons, either, those characters have proved durable enough to revive my interest in episodes old and new. South Park has a thinner bench by comparison, and as the show itself astutely pointed out years ago, it’s difficult for a satirically minded animated sitcom to explore ground that The Simpsons hasn’t covered already. South Park’s political bent, too, has often seemed less varied than the warmer (but still sometimes cutting) social ribbing of Matt Groening’s signature show. It’s a fine line between omnidirectional satire and libertarian crankiness.\n\nAnd yet the [27th season of South Park](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2025\/jul\/26\/south-park-history-controversy-trump) has accomplished something vanishingly few of its peers, whether in animation or topical comedy, have been able to do: getting laughs taking shots at the second [Trump administration](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/trump-administration). It’s not that the White House is beyond reproach. Quite the opposite problem, much-documented: the [Donald Trump](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/donaldtrump) cabal is so outsized in its stupidity and cruelty that it’s hard to distend it into a “funny” caricature, even a bleak one. In Trump’s second term, it has only gotten bleaker; jokes that were worn out by the end of 2020 are getting retold with a nasty vengeance, and the bar for cathartic laughter has been raised considerably.\n\nFor a comedy fan, this winds up translating to an aversion. The occasional shots taken by The Simpsons somehow don’t land as squarely as they did when aimed at presidents I liked much, much more. I watch [Saturday Night Live](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/saturday-night-live) every week, and mostly dread James Austin Johnson’s accurate but ultimately defanged [impression](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2021\/nov\/07\/saturday-night-live-trump-james-austin-johnson-kieran-culkin). (Some weeks, Johnson himself seems bummed out to be doing it.) I respect the hell out of Stephen Colbert, but I have never sought out his Trump commentary; I don’t need any more clapter – the reaction encouraged by comedy that wants your approval more than your laughter – in my life. South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone seemed to agree; Parker’s 2017 announcement that they’d grown bored of taking shots at Trump – then barely into his first presidential term – was one of the show’s [many controversies](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2025\/jul\/26\/south-park-history-controversy-trump) over the years.\n\nSo how is it that South Park’s revived anti-Trump blows this season have managed to land? A big part of it is precisely Stone and Parker’s allergy to clapter and the grandstanding that inspires it. They obviously resent anything they read as putting on airs and sometimes in the past, this came across as its own form of preachiness, with “everybody chill”-style speeches at an episode’s end that would secretly sound just as prescriptive as the self-righteousness they wanted to send up. With their most recent Trump parody, though, there isn’t much moralizing – just gratifyingly mean caricatures of deserving figures such as Trump, [JD Vance](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2025\/aug\/07\/south-park-anti-deportation-episode-ice) and the homeland security secretary, [Kristi Noem](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/aug\/08\/homeland-security-kristi-noem-south-park). Some (not all) of their past roastings have verged on point-and-laugh bullying; here are targets worthy of that derision.\n\nSome of this derision speaks through the language of South Park itself. Trump isn’t vocally or visually imitated; he’s depicted in a series of repurposed photos, with the same voice and animation technique that Parker and Stone used to bring Saddam Hussein to life in the South Park movie. He’s also given the same sexual partner: a [muscled-up and put-upon version of Satan](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2025\/jul\/24\/south-park-most-furious-episode-ever-the-jaw-dropping-satanic-takedown-of-donald-trump), who has found himself in another toxic relationship. Calling Trump a wannabe dictator doesn’t break new ground, but there’s something satisfying in Stone and Parker using their personal toolkit to draw a line between Trump and Saddam; if they thought it was a histrionic comparison, they’d be making fun of it instead of making it. Similarly, there’s real spite animating the depiction of Noem as a [dog-murdering](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/books\/2024\/apr\/26\/trump-kristi-noem-shot-dog-and-goat-book) zealot whose glamorous face needs to be repeatedly lacquered and reaffixed to her head as she commands an army of Immigration and Customs Enforcement thugs.\n\nNot all of the season’s satire has involved making real-life figures regulars on the show. Because South Park’s ensemble has rarely felt as vast or believably developed as Springfield of The Simpsons (or even Arlen on King of the Hill), it’s also flexible enough to turn Randy, Stan’s desperately trend-following dad, into a ketamine-microdosing, tech-bro moron addicted to the soothing, empty reassurances of ChatGPT – the focus of [the most recent episode](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2025\/aug\/21\/south-park-takes-on-trumps-martial-takeover-ai-and-tech-bros), to the point where most of the core child cast doesn’t appear. Surprisingly, this season has deployed forever favorite Cartman more sparingly so far, again getting self-referential in the season’s second episode, where the id-driven and arguably evil little kid is incensed to find out that podcasters have stolen his “shtick” – his pervasive hatefulness, repackaged as a challenge to debate where the aggressor is always the self-appointed winner. Ascribing this “master debater” title to Cartman (alongside a fellow kid serving as an obvious Charlie Kirk\/Ben Shapiro stand-in) somehow manages to make this ridiculous behavior funny in its petty smallness without glorifying it.\n\nA South Park diehard would probably describe this praise as a fair-weather fan only enjoying the show when it goes after the “right” targets. Maybe that’s true, but it’s also a lot easier to take some joy in savaging Vance as a meme-faced version of a Fantasy Island sidekick than, say, accusing George Lucas and Steven Spielberg of cultural rape. It’s probably wishful thinking to wonder if Parker and Stone might actually move the needle of the perception on tech bros, debate-me podcasters and Trump-world ghouls, especially among the dude demo. But it’s also just a blessed change of pace to see say-anything, first-amendment types finding a fresher target than the wokeness bogeyman. While countless standups continue to whine about being silenced, Parker and Stone seem highly aware of their rarified position (and, as [Paramount](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/culture\/2025\/jul\/19\/paramount-cbs-trump) contractors, also [aware](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2025\/jul\/24\/south-park-trump-paramount) of what actual political-corporate [interference](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/media\/2025\/jul\/02\/paramount-settles-with-trump-for-16m-over-60-minutes-interview-with-kamala-harris) looks like). In a world where Trump’s actual political opponents seem terrified to actually fight him, some well-deserved, point-and-laugh meanness has become a surprising novelty.","meta_canonical":null}

3. Robots.txt Check

Query:

Response:

4. Spam/Ban Check

Query:

Response:

5. Seen Status Check

ℹ️ Skipped - page is already crawled

📄

INDEXABLE

✅

CRAWLED

23 days ago

🚫

ROBOTS BLOCKED

Page Info Filters

Filter	Status	Condition	Details
HTTP status	PASS	`download_http_code = 200`	HTTP 200
Age cutoff	PASS	`download_stamp > now() - 6 MONTH`	0.8 months ago
History drop	PASS	`isNull(history_drop_reason)`	No drop reason
Spam/ban	PASS	`fh_dont_index != 1 AND ml_spam_score = 0`	ml_spam_score=0
Canonical	PASS	`meta_canonical IS NULL OR = '' OR = src_unparsed`	Not set

Page Details

Property	Value
URL	https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/aug/23/south-park-trump
Last Crawled	2026-03-24 13:44:29 (23 days ago)
First Indexed	2025-08-23 09:03:02 (7 months ago)
HTTP Status Code	200
Meta Title	South Park has become the most important TV show of the Trump 2.0 era \| South Park \| The Guardian
Meta Description	This season of the long-running animated sitcom has aimed its ire at the cruelty and stupidity of an administration others have found hard to successfully ridicule
Meta Canonical	null
Boilerpipe Text	I ’ll admit it: I’m more of a Simpsons guy than a South Park guy. Nothing really against those South Park guys – I’ve caught plenty of episodes over its astonishing near-30-year run, and loved the 1999 big-screen movie. But while I haven’t always maintained clockwork viewership of The Simpsons, either, those characters have proved durable enough to revive my interest in episodes old and new. South Park has a thinner bench by comparison, and as the show itself astutely pointed out years ago, it’s difficult for a satirically minded animated sitcom to explore ground that The Simpsons hasn’t covered already. South Park’s political bent, too, has often seemed less varied than the warmer (but still sometimes cutting) social ribbing of Matt Groening’s signature show. It’s a fine line between omnidirectional satire and libertarian crankiness. And yet the 27th season of South Park has accomplished something vanishingly few of its peers, whether in animation or topical comedy, have been able to do: getting laughs taking shots at the second Trump administration . It’s not that the White House is beyond reproach. Quite the opposite problem, much-documented: the Donald Trump cabal is so outsized in its stupidity and cruelty that it’s hard to distend it into a “funny” caricature, even a bleak one. In Trump’s second term, it has only gotten bleaker; jokes that were worn out by the end of 2020 are getting retold with a nasty vengeance, and the bar for cathartic laughter has been raised considerably. For a comedy fan, this winds up translating to an aversion. The occasional shots taken by The Simpsons somehow don’t land as squarely as they did when aimed at presidents I liked much, much more. I watch Saturday Night Live every week, and mostly dread James Austin Johnson’s accurate but ultimately defanged impression . (Some weeks, Johnson himself seems bummed out to be doing it.) I respect the hell out of Stephen Colbert, but I have never sought out his Trump commentary; I don’t need any more clapter – the reaction encouraged by comedy that wants your approval more than your laughter – in my life. South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone seemed to agree; Parker’s 2017 announcement that they’d grown bored of taking shots at Trump – then barely into his first presidential term – was one of the show’s many controversies over the years. So how is it that South Park’s revived anti-Trump blows this season have managed to land? A big part of it is precisely Stone and Parker’s allergy to clapter and the grandstanding that inspires it. They obviously resent anything they read as putting on airs and sometimes in the past, this came across as its own form of preachiness, with “everybody chill”-style speeches at an episode’s end that would secretly sound just as prescriptive as the self-righteousness they wanted to send up. With their most recent Trump parody, though, there isn’t much moralizing – just gratifyingly mean caricatures of deserving figures such as Trump, JD Vance and the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem . Some (not all) of their past roastings have verged on point-and-laugh bullying; here are targets worthy of that derision. Some of this derision speaks through the language of South Park itself. Trump isn’t vocally or visually imitated; he’s depicted in a series of repurposed photos, with the same voice and animation technique that Parker and Stone used to bring Saddam Hussein to life in the South Park movie. He’s also given the same sexual partner: a muscled-up and put-upon version of Satan , who has found himself in another toxic relationship. Calling Trump a wannabe dictator doesn’t break new ground, but there’s something satisfying in Stone and Parker using their personal toolkit to draw a line between Trump and Saddam; if they thought it was a histrionic comparison, they’d be making fun of it instead of making it. Similarly, there’s real spite animating the depiction of Noem as a dog-murdering zealot whose glamorous face needs to be repeatedly lacquered and reaffixed to her head as she commands an army of Immigration and Customs Enforcement thugs. Not all of the season’s satire has involved making real-life figures regulars on the show. Because South Park’s ensemble has rarely felt as vast or believably developed as Springfield of The Simpsons (or even Arlen on King of the Hill), it’s also flexible enough to turn Randy, Stan’s desperately trend-following dad, into a ketamine-microdosing, tech-bro moron addicted to the soothing, empty reassurances of ChatGPT – the focus of the most recent episode , to the point where most of the core child cast doesn’t appear. Surprisingly, this season has deployed forever favorite Cartman more sparingly so far, again getting self-referential in the season’s second episode, where the id-driven and arguably evil little kid is incensed to find out that podcasters have stolen his “shtick” – his pervasive hatefulness, repackaged as a challenge to debate where the aggressor is always the self-appointed winner. Ascribing this “master debater” title to Cartman (alongside a fellow kid serving as an obvious Charlie Kirk/Ben Shapiro stand-in) somehow manages to make this ridiculous behavior funny in its petty smallness without glorifying it. A South Park diehard would probably describe this praise as a fair-weather fan only enjoying the show when it goes after the “right” targets. Maybe that’s true, but it’s also a lot easier to take some joy in savaging Vance as a meme-faced version of a Fantasy Island sidekick than, say, accusing George Lucas and Steven Spielberg of cultural rape. It’s probably wishful thinking to wonder if Parker and Stone might actually move the needle of the perception on tech bros, debate-me podcasters and Trump-world ghouls, especially among the dude demo. But it’s also just a blessed change of pace to see say-anything, first-amendment types finding a fresher target than the wokeness bogeyman. While countless standups continue to whine about being silenced, Parker and Stone seem highly aware of their rarified position (and, as Paramount contractors, also aware of what actual political-corporate interference looks like). In a world where Trump’s actual political opponents seem terrified to actually fight him, some well-deserved, point-and-laugh meanness has become a surprising novelty.
Markdown	![](https://sb.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&c2=6035250&cv=2.0&cj=1&cs_ucfr=0&comscorekw=tv-and-radio) [Skip to main content](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/aug/23/south-park-trump#maincontent)[Skip to navigation](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/aug/23/south-park-trump#navigation) Close dialogue 1/1 Next image Previous image Toggle caption [Skip to navigation](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/aug/23/south-park-trump#navigation) [Print subscriptions](https://support.theguardian.com/subscribe/weekly?REFPVID=mn4o1xvaq1db62h7andv&INTCMP=undefined&acquisitionData=%7B%22source%22%3A%22GUARDIAN_WEB%22%2C%22componentId%22%3A%22PrintSubscriptionsHeaderLink%22%2C%22componentType%22%3A%22ACQUISITIONS_HEADER%22%2C%22referrerPageviewId%22%3A%22mn4o1xvaq1db62h7andv%22%2C%22referrerUrl%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2025%2Faug%2F23%2Fsouth-park-trump%22%7D) [Search jobs](https://jobs.theguardian.com/) [Sign in](https://profile.theguardian.com/signin?INTCMP=DOTCOM_NEWHEADER_SIGNIN&ABCMP=ab-sign-in&componentEventParams=componentType%3Didentityauthentication%26componentId%3Dguardian_signin_header) Eur - [Europe edition](https://www.theguardian.com/preference/edition/eur) - [UK edition](https://www.theguardian.com/preference/edition/uk) - [US edition](https://www.theguardian.com/preference/edition/us) - [Australia edition](https://www.theguardian.com/preference/edition/au) - [International edition](https://www.theguardian.com/preference/edition/int) [The Guardian - Back to homeThe Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/) - [News](https://www.theguardian.com/) - [Opinion](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree) - [Sport](https://www.theguardian.com/sport) - [Culture](https://www.theguardian.com/culture) - [Lifestyle](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle) Show more Hide expanded menu - News - [View all News](https://www.theguardian.com/) - [World news](https://www.theguardian.com/world) - [UK news](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news) - [Climate crisis](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-crisis) - [Ukraine](https://www.theguardian.com/world/ukraine) - [Environment](https://www.theguardian.com/environment) - [Science](https://www.theguardian.com/science) - [Global development](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development) - [Football](https://www.theguardian.com/football) - [Tech](https://www.theguardian.com/technology) - [Business](https://www.theguardian.com/business) - [Obituaries](https://www.theguardian.com/obituaries) - Opinion - [View all Opinion](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree) - [The Guardian view](https://www.theguardian.com/profile/editorial) - [Columnists](https://www.theguardian.com/index/contributors) - [Cartoons](https://www.theguardian.com/tone/cartoons) - [Opinion videos](https://www.theguardian.com/type/video+tone/comment) - [Letters](https://www.theguardian.com/tone/letters) - Sport - [View all Sport](https://www.theguardian.com/sport) - [Football](https://www.theguardian.com/football) - [Cricket](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/cricket) - [Rugby union](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/rugby-union) - [Tennis](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/tennis) - [Cycling](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/cycling) - [F1](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/formulaone) - [Golf](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/golf) - [US sports](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/us-sport) - Culture - [View all Culture](https://www.theguardian.com/culture) - [Books](https://www.theguardian.com/books) - [Music](https://www.theguardian.com/music) - [TV & radio](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio) - [Art & design](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign) - [Film](https://www.theguardian.com/film) - [Games](https://www.theguardian.com/games) - [Classical](https://www.theguardian.com/music/classicalmusicandopera) - [Stage](https://www.theguardian.com/stage) - Lifestyle - [View all Lifestyle](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle) - [Fashion](https://www.theguardian.com/fashion) - [Food](https://www.theguardian.com/food) - [Recipes](https://www.theguardian.com/tone/recipes) - [Love & sex](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/love-and-sex) - [Health & fitness](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/health-and-wellbeing) - [Home & garden](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/home-and-garden) - [Women](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/women) - [Men](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/men) - [Family](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/family) - [Travel](https://www.theguardian.com/travel) - [Money](https://www.theguardian.com/money) - [Support us](https://support.theguardian.com/?INTCMP=side_menu_support&acquisitionData=%7B%22source%22:%22GUARDIAN_WEB%22,%22componentType%22:%22ACQUISITIONS_HEADER%22,%22componentId%22:%22side_menu_support%22%7D) - [Print subscriptions](https://support.theguardian.com/subscribe/weekly?REFPVID=mn4o1xvaq1db62h7andv&INTCMP=undefined&acquisitionData=%7B%22source%22%3A%22GUARDIAN_WEB%22%2C%22componentId%22%3A%22PrintSubscriptionsHeaderLink%22%2C%22componentType%22%3A%22ACQUISITIONS_HEADER%22%2C%22referrerPageviewId%22%3A%22mn4o1xvaq1db62h7andv%22%2C%22referrerUrl%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2025%2Faug%2F23%2Fsouth-park-trump%22%7D) - - [Search jobs](https://jobs.theguardian.com/) - [Holidays](https://holidays.theguardian.com/?INTCMP=holidays_int_web_newheader) - [Digital Archive](https://theguardian.newspapers.com/) - [Guardian Licensing](https://licensing.theguardian.com/) - [Live events](https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-live-events?INTCMP=live_eur_header_dropdown) - [About Us](https://www.theguardian.com/about) - [The Guardian app](https://app.adjust.com/16xt6hai) - [Video](https://www.theguardian.com/video) - [Podcasts](https://www.theguardian.com/podcasts) - [Pictures](https://www.theguardian.com/inpictures) - [Newsletters](https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters) - [Today's paper](https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian) - [Inside the Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/insidetheguardian) - [Guardian Weekly](https://www.theguardian.com/weekly?INTCMP=gdnwb_mawns_editorial_gweekly_GW_TopNav_Int) - [Crosswords](https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords) - [Wordiply](https://www.wordiply.com/) - [Corrections](https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/series/corrections-and-clarifications) - [Tips](https://www.theguardian.com/tips) - - [Search jobs](https://jobs.theguardian.com/) - [Holidays](https://holidays.theguardian.com/?INTCMP=holidays_int_web_newheader) - [Digital Archive](https://theguardian.newspapers.com/) - [Guardian Licensing](https://licensing.theguardian.com/) - [Live events](https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-live-events?INTCMP=live_eur_header_dropdown) - [About Us](https://www.theguardian.com/about) - [Books](https://www.theguardian.com/books) - [Music](https://www.theguardian.com/music) - [TV & radio](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio) - [Art & design](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign) - [Film](https://www.theguardian.com/film) - [Games](https://www.theguardian.com/games) - [Classical](https://www.theguardian.com/music/classicalmusicandopera) - [Stage](https://www.theguardian.com/stage) ![animated satan next to trump](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b354c1bf94283e821ad8f4ba99741b98a9e96fd5/833_0_2596_2078/master/2596.jpg?width=465&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none) A still from South Park. Photograph: Comedy Central [View image in fullscreen](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/aug/23/south-park-trump#img-1) A still from South Park. Photograph: Comedy Central [South Park](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/south-park) This article is more than 6 months old # South Park has become the most important TV show of the Trump 2.0 era This article is more than 6 months old [Jesse Hassenger](https://www.theguardian.com/profile/jesse-hassenger) This season of the long-running animated sitcom has aimed its ire at the cruelty and stupidity of an administration others have found hard to successfully ridicule Sat 23 Aug 2025 11.02 CEST Last modified on Mon 25 Aug 2025 20.08 CEST Share I’ll admit it: I’m more of a [Simpsons](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/the-simpsons) guy than a [South Park](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/south-park) guy. Nothing really against those South Park guys – I’ve caught plenty of episodes over its astonishing near-30-year run, and loved the 1999 big-screen movie. But while I haven’t always maintained clockwork viewership of The Simpsons, either, those characters have proved durable enough to revive my interest in episodes old and new. South Park has a thinner bench by comparison, and as the show itself astutely pointed out years ago, it’s difficult for a satirically minded animated sitcom to explore ground that The Simpsons hasn’t covered already. South Park’s political bent, too, has often seemed less varied than the warmer (but still sometimes cutting) social ribbing of Matt Groening’s signature show. It’s a fine line between omnidirectional satire and libertarian crankiness. And yet the [27th season of South Park](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/jul/26/south-park-history-controversy-trump) has accomplished something vanishingly few of its peers, whether in animation or topical comedy, have been able to do: getting laughs taking shots at the second [Trump administration](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/trump-administration). It’s not that the White House is beyond reproach. Quite the opposite problem, much-documented: the [Donald Trump](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump) cabal is so outsized in its stupidity and cruelty that it’s hard to distend it into a “funny” caricature, even a bleak one. In Trump’s second term, it has only gotten bleaker; jokes that were worn out by the end of 2020 are getting retold with a nasty vengeance, and the bar for cathartic laughter has been raised considerably. [![Randy and Stan Marsh in the South Park episode Sickofancy.](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/be451fc82a0a0950bb9be9dcc288381b05a410f2/356_0_1688_1350/master/1688.jpg?width=460&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=0f8c9a717adb0ed6225c7a463987467e)Satire at its finest: South Park takes on Trump’s martial takeover, AI and tech bros Read more](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/aug/21/south-park-takes-on-trumps-martial-takeover-ai-and-tech-bros) For a comedy fan, this winds up translating to an aversion. The occasional shots taken by The Simpsons somehow don’t land as squarely as they did when aimed at presidents I liked much, much more. I watch [Saturday Night Live](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/saturday-night-live) every week, and mostly dread James Austin Johnson’s accurate but ultimately defanged [impression](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/nov/07/saturday-night-live-trump-james-austin-johnson-kieran-culkin). (Some weeks, Johnson himself seems bummed out to be doing it.) I respect the hell out of Stephen Colbert, but I have never sought out his Trump commentary; I don’t need any more clapter – the reaction encouraged by comedy that wants your approval more than your laughter – in my life. South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone seemed to agree; Parker’s 2017 announcement that they’d grown bored of taking shots at Trump – then barely into his first presidential term – was one of the show’s [many controversies](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/jul/26/south-park-history-controversy-trump) over the years. So how is it that South Park’s revived anti-Trump blows this season have managed to land? A big part of it is precisely Stone and Parker’s allergy to clapter and the grandstanding that inspires it. They obviously resent anything they read as putting on airs and sometimes in the past, this came across as its own form of preachiness, with “everybody chill”-style speeches at an episode’s end that would secretly sound just as prescriptive as the self-righteousness they wanted to send up. With their most recent Trump parody, though, there isn’t much moralizing – just gratifyingly mean caricatures of deserving figures such as Trump, [JD Vance](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/aug/07/south-park-anti-deportation-episode-ice) and the homeland security secretary, [Kristi Noem](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/08/homeland-security-kristi-noem-south-park). Some (not all) of their past roastings have verged on point-and-laugh bullying; here are targets worthy of that derision. Some of this derision speaks through the language of South Park itself. Trump isn’t vocally or visually imitated; he’s depicted in a series of repurposed photos, with the same voice and animation technique that Parker and Stone used to bring Saddam Hussein to life in the South Park movie. He’s also given the same sexual partner: a [muscled-up and put-upon version of Satan](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/jul/24/south-park-most-furious-episode-ever-the-jaw-dropping-satanic-takedown-of-donald-trump), who has found himself in another toxic relationship. Calling Trump a wannabe dictator doesn’t break new ground, but there’s something satisfying in Stone and Parker using their personal toolkit to draw a line between Trump and Saddam; if they thought it was a histrionic comparison, they’d be making fun of it instead of making it. Similarly, there’s real spite animating the depiction of Noem as a [dog-murdering](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/apr/26/trump-kristi-noem-shot-dog-and-goat-book) zealot whose glamorous face needs to be repeatedly lacquered and reaffixed to her head as she commands an army of Immigration and Customs Enforcement thugs. [![South Park Sermon on the Mount](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/fb168fdd444a31cb75f9753e368a058805e09c4c/493_0_2347_1878/master/2347.jpg?width=460&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=20a80e700d147cb5ee7b72972c2708de)Lewd, crude and politically astute: South Park’s history of controversy Read more](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/jul/26/south-park-history-controversy-trump) Not all of the season’s satire has involved making real-life figures regulars on the show. Because South Park’s ensemble has rarely felt as vast or believably developed as Springfield of The Simpsons (or even Arlen on King of the Hill), it’s also flexible enough to turn Randy, Stan’s desperately trend-following dad, into a ketamine-microdosing, tech-bro moron addicted to the soothing, empty reassurances of ChatGPT – the focus of [the most recent episode](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/aug/21/south-park-takes-on-trumps-martial-takeover-ai-and-tech-bros), to the point where most of the core child cast doesn’t appear. Surprisingly, this season has deployed forever favorite Cartman more sparingly so far, again getting self-referential in the season’s second episode, where the id-driven and arguably evil little kid is incensed to find out that podcasters have stolen his “shtick” – his pervasive hatefulness, repackaged as a challenge to debate where the aggressor is always the self-appointed winner. Ascribing this “master debater” title to Cartman (alongside a fellow kid serving as an obvious Charlie Kirk/Ben Shapiro stand-in) somehow manages to make this ridiculous behavior funny in its petty smallness without glorifying it. A South Park diehard would probably describe this praise as a fair-weather fan only enjoying the show when it goes after the “right” targets. Maybe that’s true, but it’s also a lot easier to take some joy in savaging Vance as a meme-faced version of a Fantasy Island sidekick than, say, accusing George Lucas and Steven Spielberg of cultural rape. It’s probably wishful thinking to wonder if Parker and Stone might actually move the needle of the perception on tech bros, debate-me podcasters and Trump-world ghouls, especially among the dude demo. But it’s also just a blessed change of pace to see say-anything, first-amendment types finding a fresher target than the wokeness bogeyman. While countless standups continue to whine about being silenced, Parker and Stone seem highly aware of their rarified position (and, as [Paramount](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/jul/19/paramount-cbs-trump) contractors, also [aware](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/jul/24/south-park-trump-paramount) of what actual political-corporate [interference](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/jul/02/paramount-settles-with-trump-for-16m-over-60-minutes-interview-with-kamala-harris) looks like). In a world where Trump’s actual political opponents seem terrified to actually fight him, some well-deserved, point-and-laugh meanness has become a surprising novelty. Explore more on these topics - [South Park](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/south-park) - [Animation on TV](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/animation) - [TV comedy](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/comedy) - [Comedy](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/comedy) - [Television](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/television) - [US television](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/us-television) - [Donald Trump](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump) - [comment](https://www.theguardian.com/tone/comment) Share [Reuse this content](https://syndication.theguardian.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ftv-and-radio%2F2025%2Faug%2F23%2Fsouth-park-trump&type=article&internalpagecode=tv-and-radio/2025/aug/23/south-park-trump "Reuse this content") ### Most viewed - [![](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/500108cd775f15cb9f5b64b8aaa97c36d853bede/103_0_2154_1723/master/2154.jpg?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none) US quadruple amputee cornhole champion arrested on suspicion of murder](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/24/amputee-cornhole-player-arrested) - [![](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/53a518d2d5a65abf2d275052b522ae7e0402cce7/366_0_3655_2924/master/3655.jpg?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none) Molly Miller, ‘pretty privilege’ and women’s basketball’s beauty trap](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/mar/24/molly-miller-arizona-state-university-basketball) - [![](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/60a255ba80e680da37d92b3a7532ad95f5f609cd/2128_389_3437_2751/master/3437.jpg?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none) Behind the rise of Clavicular and ‘looksmaxxing’ there are insecure young men who feel they don’t measure upJason Okundaye](https://www.theguardian.com/society/commentisfree/2026/mar/24/clavicular-insecure-young-men-looksmaxxing) - [![](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/896d84533ce42fcb1d038292185bc768f4500450/962_0_6830_5464/master/6830.jpg?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none) LiveMiddle East crisis live: Pakistan reportedly favouring Vance for role in possible US-Iran peace talks](https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/mar/24/iran-war-live-updates-trump-ursula-von-der-leyen-oil-prices-energy-crisis-israel-strikes) - [![](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f868a652078dac0f90df268a30fb5b872c5f4b4f/224_0_1350_1080/master/1350.jpg?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none) The ‘self-deportee’ hounded out of the US to Mexico: ‘There are days when I feel literally insane’](https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2026/mar/24/self-deportation-los-angeles-mexico-trump-immigration) ## Related stories ## Related stories - ![](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/57a4486d762c962e1d1432faa5c39169d0249b5d/294_0_3000_2400/master/3000.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4) ### Donald Trump and JD Vance have graphic sex (in South Park) 13 Nov 2025 - ![](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d836bfe4c4378e557e72530a0d2f0c686472007f/286_0_1349_1080/master/1349.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4) ### A South Park Halloween: latest episode destroys Trump over White House demolition 1 Nov 2025 - ![](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/76a59729a1e116afe29f4ee17af20173b5651718/0_0_2765_2212/master/2765.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4) ### ‘Explicit and outrageous’: South Park is back with its most gratuitous episode since naked Trump 16 Oct 2025 - ![](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/550bd061b8b5dcffea4602d928f078bfb3e62887/273_0_2730_2184/master/2730.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4) ### They’ve finally gone there: South Park lets rip at Benjamin Netanyahu 25 Sept 2025 - ![](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/be451fc82a0a0950bb9be9dcc288381b05a410f2/356_0_1688_1350/master/1688.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4) ### Satire at its finest: South Park takes on Trump’s martial takeover, AI and tech bros 21 Aug 2025 - ![](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/fb168fdd444a31cb75f9753e368a058805e09c4c/493_0_2347_1878/master/2347.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4) ### Lewd, crude and politically astute: South Park’s history of controversy 26 Jul 2025 - ![](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2b9425ced15758b2bb32f4d15961a7a7c594874e/221_0_1535_922/master/1535.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4) ### South Park pandemic special: a biting and surprisingly affecting satire 2 Oct 2020 - ![](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c78e37bb636dfe8690f4a2e7158a1f3cfed695f7/43_0_1292_775/master/1292.png?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4) ### New season of South Park takes aim at white supremacy 13 Sept 2017 ## More from culture ## More from culture - ![](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/dc2a186e4738c68d6395aa1ca47d513406651bfe/0_1001_2775_2219/master/2775.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4) ### BooksEnough Said by Alan Bennett review – a man for all seasons 5h ago - ![](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7123022afb5a835bf270484aea508c6eb4d28c35/327_0_2917_2334/master/2917.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4) ### MusicManchester’s Strange Quarter is alive with creativity. Can it survive a 130-hectare redevelopment? 3h ago [18 18 comments](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/mar/24/manchester-strange-quarter-creativity-130-hectare-redevelopment#comments) - ![](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ea58f382a48fb4b226ccbf0b401656df48cc177e/2869_2956_5518_4415/master/5518.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4) ### Stage‘It shook the plaster off the ceiling’: Self Esteem and David Hare on reviving rock romp Teeth ‘n’ Smiles 22h ago - ![](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/a00b1862fae0ee4d5f1c46c951faf54eaa636bc3/61_0_7200_5760/master/7200.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4) ### The Peaky Blinders film is pandering to these populist times – I should know, the Nazi in it is my father 5h ago [282 282 comments](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/24/peaky-blinders-film-populist-times-nazi-father-world-war-two-film#comments) - ![](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/37e1129af67b9609b1565b821f4d28da29118bfd/463_0_4919_3936/master/4919.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4) ### How we made‘Audiences told us we didn’t show enough teacher sex’: how we made Waterloo Road 23h ago [25 25 comments](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/mar/23/how-we-made-waterloo-road-twenty-years-on-bbc#comments) - ![](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/e437499e267ddc10f2d6d20b01801746a0778e00/0_668_3328_2662/master/3328.jpg?width=220&dpr=1&s=none&crop=5%3A4) ### StageDario Fo at 100: a deliriously funny playwright with a deadly serious purpose 9h ago [25 25 comments](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/mar/24/dario-fo-at-100-a-deliriously-funny-playwright-with-a-deadly-serious-purpose#comments) ## Most viewed ## Most viewed - [Most viewed Across the Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/aug/23/tabs-popular-0) - [Most viewed in Television & radio](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/aug/23/tabs-popular-1) ### Most viewed Across the\ Guardian 1. [LiveMiddle East crisis live: Pakistan reportedly favouring Vance for role in possible US-Iran peace talks](https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/mar/24/iran-war-live-updates-trump-ursula-von-der-leyen-oil-prices-energy-crisis-israel-strikes) 2. [US quadruple amputee cornhole champion arrested on suspicion of murder](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/24/amputee-cornhole-player-arrested) 3. [Irish metals refinery is in supply chain that feeds Russian war machine, records suggest](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/24/irish-metals-refinery-is-in-supply-chain-that-feeds-russian-war-machine-records-suggest) 4. [Bets on US-Iran ceasefire show signs of insider knowledge, say experts](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/23/bets-us-iran-ceasefire-show-signs-of-insider-knowledge-say-experts-polymarket) 5. [‘I’d smoke Biscoff if I could’: how a little Belgian biscuit became a social media sensation](https://www.theguardian.com/food/2026/mar/24/biscoff-belgian-biscuit-viral-social-media-sensation-recipes) 6. [‘It smells like a rancid fish and chip shop’: at sea with the Antarctic’s krill supertrawlers](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/24/krill-foundation-food-antarctic-ecosystem-survive-factory-fishing) 7. [‘Luxury takes time. We don’t have time’: The former top military officer on a mission to fix the Dutch housing crisis](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/23/former-top-military-officer-elanor-boekholt-osullivan-mission-fix-dutch-housing-crisis) 8. [The global authoritarian right loves Orbán – and that could cost him in Hungary’s elections](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/24/viktor-orban-hungary-elections-global-authoritarian-right) 9. [Prisoner number 804: the plot to erase Imran Khan](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/24/prisoner-number-804-pakistan-plot-to-erase-imran-khan) 10. [Behind the rise of Clavicular and ‘looksmaxxing’ there are insecure young men who feel they don’t measure up](https://www.theguardian.com/society/commentisfree/2026/mar/24/clavicular-insecure-young-men-looksmaxxing) ### Most viewed in Television & radio 1. [Clash of the Superpowers: America vs China review – Trump vomits all over Norma Percy’s film](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/mar/23/clash-of-the-superpowers-america-vs-china-review-trump-norma-percy-film) 2. [Reacher star Alan Ritchson filmed allegedly assaulting neighbor](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/mar/23/actor-alan-ritchson-alleged-neighbor-assault-video) 3. [Bafta TV awards 2026 nominations: full list](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/mar/24/bafta-tv-awards-2026-nominations-full-list) 4. [Adolescence dominates Bafta TV award nominations 2026](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/mar/24/adolescence-dominates-bafta-tv-award-nominations-2026) 5. [TV tonight: Martin Clunes is Huw Edwards in a one-off scandal drama](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/mar/24/tv-tonight-martin-clunes-is-huw-edwards-in-a-one-off-scandal-drama) 6. [Mafs expert Mel Schilling shares terminal cancer diagnosis: ‘I don’t know how long I have left’](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/mar/13/mafs-mel-schilling-health-terminal-cancer-diagnosis) 7. [Jane Fonda’s life goes under the microscope: best podcasts of the week](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/mar/23/jane-fondas-life-goes-under-the-microscope-best-podcasts-of-the-week) 8. [‘There’s no way back for him’: Martin Clunes on playing Huw Edwards in a controversial new drama](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/mar/20/power-the-downfall-of-huw-edwards-martin-clunes-interview-drama-channel-5) 9. [Saturday Night Live UK review – it didn’t fail and it could have been a lot worse](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/mar/22/saturday-night-live-uk-review-it-didnt-fail-and-it-could-have-been-a-lot-worse) 10. [John Oliver on police stings: ‘might actually be doing more harm than good’](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/mar/23/john-oliver-police-stings) - [Books](https://www.theguardian.com/books) - [Music](https://www.theguardian.com/music) - [TV & radio](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio) - [Art & design](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign) - [Film](https://www.theguardian.com/film) - [Games](https://www.theguardian.com/games) - [Classical](https://www.theguardian.com/music/classicalmusicandopera) - [Stage](https://www.theguardian.com/stage) - [News](https://www.theguardian.com/) - [Opinion](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree) - [Sport](https://www.theguardian.com/sport) - [Culture](https://www.theguardian.com/culture) - [Lifestyle](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle) Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning [Sign up for our email](https://www.theguardian.com/global/2022/sep/20/sign-up-for-the-first-edition-newsletter-our-free-news-email) - [About us](https://www.theguardian.com/about) - [Help](https://manage.theguardian.com/help-centre) - [Complaints & corrections](https://www.theguardian.com/info/complaints-and-corrections) - [Contact us](https://www.theguardian.com/help/contact-us) - [Tip us off](https://www.theguardian.com/tips) - [SecureDrop](https://www.theguardian.com/securedrop) - [Privacy policy](https://www.theguardian.com/info/privacy) - [Cookie policy](https://www.theguardian.com/info/cookies) - [Tax strategy](https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2025/09/05/Tax_strategy_for_the_year_ended_31_March_2025.pdf) - [Terms & conditions](https://www.theguardian.com/help/terms-of-service) - [All topics](https://www.theguardian.com/index/subjects/a) - [All writers](https://www.theguardian.com/index/contributors) - [Newsletters](https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?INTCMP=DOTCOM_FOOTER_NEWSLETTER_EUROPE) - [Digital newspaper archive](https://theguardian.newspapers.com/) - [Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/theguardian.com) - [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/theguardian) - [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/guardian) - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/theguardian) - [Threads](https://www.threads.com/@guardian) - [TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@guardian) - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGuardian) - [Advertise with us](https://advertising.theguardian.com/) - [Search UK jobs](https://jobs.theguardian.com/) - [Tips](https://www.theguardian.com/tips) - [Accessibility settings](https://www.theguardian.com/help/accessibility-help) - [Work with us](https://workwithus.theguardian.com/) Support the Guardian Available for everyone, funded by readers [Support us](https://support.theguardian.com/?INTCMP=footer_support&acquisitionData=%7B%22source%22:%22GUARDIAN_WEB%22,%22componentType%22:%22ACQUISITIONS_FOOTER%22,%22componentId%22:%22footer_support%22%7D) [Back to top](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/aug/23/south-park-trump#top) © 2026 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. (dcr)
Readable Markdown	I’ll admit it: I’m more of a [Simpsons](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/the-simpsons) guy than a [South Park](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/south-park) guy. Nothing really against those South Park guys – I’ve caught plenty of episodes over its astonishing near-30-year run, and loved the 1999 big-screen movie. But while I haven’t always maintained clockwork viewership of The Simpsons, either, those characters have proved durable enough to revive my interest in episodes old and new. South Park has a thinner bench by comparison, and as the show itself astutely pointed out years ago, it’s difficult for a satirically minded animated sitcom to explore ground that The Simpsons hasn’t covered already. South Park’s political bent, too, has often seemed less varied than the warmer (but still sometimes cutting) social ribbing of Matt Groening’s signature show. It’s a fine line between omnidirectional satire and libertarian crankiness. And yet the [27th season of South Park](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/jul/26/south-park-history-controversy-trump) has accomplished something vanishingly few of its peers, whether in animation or topical comedy, have been able to do: getting laughs taking shots at the second [Trump administration](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/trump-administration). It’s not that the White House is beyond reproach. Quite the opposite problem, much-documented: the [Donald Trump](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump) cabal is so outsized in its stupidity and cruelty that it’s hard to distend it into a “funny” caricature, even a bleak one. In Trump’s second term, it has only gotten bleaker; jokes that were worn out by the end of 2020 are getting retold with a nasty vengeance, and the bar for cathartic laughter has been raised considerably. For a comedy fan, this winds up translating to an aversion. The occasional shots taken by The Simpsons somehow don’t land as squarely as they did when aimed at presidents I liked much, much more. I watch [Saturday Night Live](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/saturday-night-live) every week, and mostly dread James Austin Johnson’s accurate but ultimately defanged [impression](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/nov/07/saturday-night-live-trump-james-austin-johnson-kieran-culkin). (Some weeks, Johnson himself seems bummed out to be doing it.) I respect the hell out of Stephen Colbert, but I have never sought out his Trump commentary; I don’t need any more clapter – the reaction encouraged by comedy that wants your approval more than your laughter – in my life. South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone seemed to agree; Parker’s 2017 announcement that they’d grown bored of taking shots at Trump – then barely into his first presidential term – was one of the show’s [many controversies](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/jul/26/south-park-history-controversy-trump) over the years. So how is it that South Park’s revived anti-Trump blows this season have managed to land? A big part of it is precisely Stone and Parker’s allergy to clapter and the grandstanding that inspires it. They obviously resent anything they read as putting on airs and sometimes in the past, this came across as its own form of preachiness, with “everybody chill”-style speeches at an episode’s end that would secretly sound just as prescriptive as the self-righteousness they wanted to send up. With their most recent Trump parody, though, there isn’t much moralizing – just gratifyingly mean caricatures of deserving figures such as Trump, [JD Vance](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/aug/07/south-park-anti-deportation-episode-ice) and the homeland security secretary, [Kristi Noem](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/08/homeland-security-kristi-noem-south-park). Some (not all) of their past roastings have verged on point-and-laugh bullying; here are targets worthy of that derision. Some of this derision speaks through the language of South Park itself. Trump isn’t vocally or visually imitated; he’s depicted in a series of repurposed photos, with the same voice and animation technique that Parker and Stone used to bring Saddam Hussein to life in the South Park movie. He’s also given the same sexual partner: a [muscled-up and put-upon version of Satan](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/jul/24/south-park-most-furious-episode-ever-the-jaw-dropping-satanic-takedown-of-donald-trump), who has found himself in another toxic relationship. Calling Trump a wannabe dictator doesn’t break new ground, but there’s something satisfying in Stone and Parker using their personal toolkit to draw a line between Trump and Saddam; if they thought it was a histrionic comparison, they’d be making fun of it instead of making it. Similarly, there’s real spite animating the depiction of Noem as a [dog-murdering](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/apr/26/trump-kristi-noem-shot-dog-and-goat-book) zealot whose glamorous face needs to be repeatedly lacquered and reaffixed to her head as she commands an army of Immigration and Customs Enforcement thugs. Not all of the season’s satire has involved making real-life figures regulars on the show. Because South Park’s ensemble has rarely felt as vast or believably developed as Springfield of The Simpsons (or even Arlen on King of the Hill), it’s also flexible enough to turn Randy, Stan’s desperately trend-following dad, into a ketamine-microdosing, tech-bro moron addicted to the soothing, empty reassurances of ChatGPT – the focus of [the most recent episode](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/aug/21/south-park-takes-on-trumps-martial-takeover-ai-and-tech-bros), to the point where most of the core child cast doesn’t appear. Surprisingly, this season has deployed forever favorite Cartman more sparingly so far, again getting self-referential in the season’s second episode, where the id-driven and arguably evil little kid is incensed to find out that podcasters have stolen his “shtick” – his pervasive hatefulness, repackaged as a challenge to debate where the aggressor is always the self-appointed winner. Ascribing this “master debater” title to Cartman (alongside a fellow kid serving as an obvious Charlie Kirk/Ben Shapiro stand-in) somehow manages to make this ridiculous behavior funny in its petty smallness without glorifying it. A South Park diehard would probably describe this praise as a fair-weather fan only enjoying the show when it goes after the “right” targets. Maybe that’s true, but it’s also a lot easier to take some joy in savaging Vance as a meme-faced version of a Fantasy Island sidekick than, say, accusing George Lucas and Steven Spielberg of cultural rape. It’s probably wishful thinking to wonder if Parker and Stone might actually move the needle of the perception on tech bros, debate-me podcasters and Trump-world ghouls, especially among the dude demo. But it’s also just a blessed change of pace to see say-anything, first-amendment types finding a fresher target than the wokeness bogeyman. While countless standups continue to whine about being silenced, Parker and Stone seem highly aware of their rarified position (and, as [Paramount](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/jul/19/paramount-cbs-trump) contractors, also [aware](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/jul/24/south-park-trump-paramount) of what actual political-corporate [interference](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/jul/02/paramount-settles-with-trump-for-16m-over-60-minutes-interview-with-kamala-harris) looks like). In a world where Trump’s actual political opponents seem terrified to actually fight him, some well-deserved, point-and-laugh meanness has become a surprising novelty.
Shard	99 (laksa)
Root Hash	4161074618625082499
Unparsed URL	com,theguardian!www,/tv-and-radio/2025/aug/23/south-park-trump s443