Family Guy features Donald Trump, Justin Trudeau in controversial episode
This installment, technically the second part of a “Trump Guy” event, featured Peter Griffin taking a job working within the Donald Trump Administration … only for things to take a number of shocking turns. First, you had Ivanka Trump giving Meg a makeover, one in line with what she wants her fashion brand to be. Then, you had Donald Trump doing something to Meg that he’s previously bragged about doing to Billy Bush. Then, you eventually had a massive brawl between Peter and the President that included Trump’s hair becoming a weapon and then also Melania seemingly cheering Peter on.
Basically, it’s fair to share that this one is going to be controversial. Internet reaction is, to the shock of no one, mixed. Some are calling this the funniest episode ever; meanwhile, others are threatening to never watch it again. This has to be the expectation of the writing staff going into this. It’s not the first time that Family Guy has dabbled into politics, and it’s certainly the most over representation of it. It actually felt more like South Park with the brawl at the end than Family Guy.
Was it funny? It really just depends on your definition of funny and your politics. If we were to have a non-political, prevailing opinion on it, it’s that it is really hard to have an original Trump comedy take in 2019 when the well is so dry. He’s been spoofed everywhere, including on a separate Showtime animated series all about him.
What we’re curious about down the line is simply this: Whether or not there is a long-term impact on this episode commercially and if the people who threaten to stop watching over the depiction of Trump actually do. This is a show that has long appealed to many demographics, and a number of them are more conservative despite Seth MacFarlane being an outspoken critic of both the President and also Fox News, despite a long connection that it had with the Fox TV network.
(We will say this — we did find the episode’s depiction of Justin Trudeau as the magical savior who flies around with geese to be rather amusing.)
We imagine that there’s going to be some more backlash to this in the days that come, but if you are a critic of the episode, know this — backlash is almost surely what the writers were going for.
What did you think about this Family Guy episode and the controversial subject matter? Share now in the comments and stay tuned for more news! (Photo: Fox.)