Who is Dan Greaney? The Simpsons writer behind the viral episode predicting Trump through the eyes of the president in 2028 | Today’s news
Dan Greaney, the longtime comedy writer associated with The Simpsons, has announced that he is entering the 2028 United States presidential race as what he describes as a “progressive Republican.”
Greaney made the announcement via an Instagram video posted on Tuesday. In the clip, he appeared in a robe, gray beard and wig as he declared that “Judgment Day is here” before formally launching his campaign.
“I’m just a self-proclaimed prophet…” he said in the video before adding that he attended law school, graduated and passed the bar exam.
The writer then took off the costume and said, “Screw it, I can be a politician.”
“I’m running for president. My platform: America for all. Let’s do it,” he added.
Greaney is among the first public figures to announce a presidential campaign more than two years before the next US election cycle formally begins.
Who is Dan Greaney?
Dan Greaney is best known as a comedy writer and television producer who has worked on several major American entertainment projects, including The Simpsons, The Office and Borat.
The 60-year-old graduated from Harvard University and later attended Harvard Law School.
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According to his LinkedIn profile, Greaney previously worked as an attorney at Proskauer, Rose, Goetz & Mendelsohn for nearly three years before turning to television writing.
He later joined The Simpsons as a writer during seasons 7 to 11 and became associated with one of the series’ most talked about episodes involving the future presidency of Donald Trump.
Greaney is also the co-founder of Bailiwik, an online community platform, and currently lives in California.
Why is he called ‘The Simpsons Prophet’?
Over the years, The Simpsons has gained a huge online reputation for appearing to predict future global events.
Among the most talked about examples is the Season 11 episode titled “Bart to the Future”, which aired in 2000.
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In the episode, Bart Simpson sees a future where his sister Lisa becomes the President of the United States. During one scene, Lisa tells her staff, “As you know, we inherited a significant budget crunch from President Trump.”
Years later, after Donald Trump became US President in 2016, the episode resurfaced online and was widely labeled as a prediction by viewers.
At the time the episode aired, Trump briefly ran for president in the 2000 election as the Reform Party candidate before ending his campaign on February 14 of that year.
The episode itself premiered about a month later, on March 19, 2000.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2016, Greaney explained the reasoning behind the story.
“What’s important is that Lisa comes into the presidency when America is on the ropes, and that’s the condition that the Trump presidency has left,” he said.
“We needed Lisa to have problems that were beyond her control, that everything went as bad as it could, and that’s why we had Trump to be president before her.”
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He went on to tell the publication that making Trump president “seemed like the logical last stop before hitting rock bottom.”
“It was designed because it was consistent with the vision of America going crazy,” he added.
What is Dan Greaney’s political platform?
Greaney describes himself as a “progressive Republican,” a phrase he also uses in his Instagram bio.
On his campaign website, he wrote: “The Republican establishment has empowered Trump, the Democrats have failed to stand up against him or for us, so I’m not leaving it in their hands.
His platform is broadly divided into two categories – “restoring democracy” and “restoring America”.
According to details shared on his campaign website, Greaney supports expanding the U.S. Supreme Court from nine to 13 justices, strengthening rule of law protections and reducing the influence of money in politics through transparency legislation.
He also supports a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a 2010 Supreme Court decision that allowed unlimited independent political spending by corporations and unions.
His wider agenda also includes proposals for universal healthcare, the Green New Deal initiative and measures to improve housing affordability.
According to Federal Election Commission data, Greaney formally filed his candidacy on April 19.