'The Simpsons' to address Trump presidency prediction in new episode

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Donald Trump's election victory left many people surprised. But one thing that may have left more people surprised is a popular cartoon’s accurate prediction of the outcome almost two decades ago.

FOX’s animated sitcom The Simpsons first aired an episode on March 19, 2000, about Trump becoming President of the United States.

In “Bart to the Future,” Bart Simpson sees a vision of America in 2030 and shows his sister, Lisa, becoming the U.S. president and succeeding Donald Trump.

"We've inherited quite a budget crunch from President Trump," Lisa said in the episode.

In a March interview with Hollywood Reporter, writer Dan Greany said a Trump presidency was a joke in the episode but also a “warning to America.”

“What we needed was for Lisa to have problems beyond her fixing, that everything went as bad as it possibly could, and that’s why we had Trump be president before her,” Greany said. “That just seemed like the logical last stop before hitting bottom. It was pitched because it was consistent with the vision of America going insane."

James L. Brooks is the producer and one of the creators of the Emmy-winning show. He spoke on Wednesday about how he is dealing with a joke that has become a reality.

"In 2000, we did have a joke that absolutely predicted what happened last night," Brooks said. “And we are going to have a joke about it this Sunday on our blackboard."

The new Simpsons episode will air on FOX 4 at 7 p.m.