Trump's South Park problem
But in the return to the airwaves of Comedy Central stalwart South Park — the first episode since March 2023 — the creators of the irreverent, long-running cartoon series just couldn't resist.
Trump is skewered for his connections to Jeffrey Epstein and is depicted as a man who has lined the walls of the White House with naked photos of himself. He's also shown as in a relationship with the Devil, who is concerned Trump is starting to act a lot like one of his former lovers, Saddam Hussein. 'It's weird that whenever [the Epstein list] comes up, you just tell everyone to relax,' the Devil tells Trump.
It's the latest sign that Trump has lost control of the Epstein narrative, and that the saga has broken Washington containment and permeated deep into popular culture. That makes it the worst kind of White House mess.
South Park, which has aired since 1997 and just premiered its 27th season, has over the years become a boundary-pushing, comedic touchstone. It has mercilessly mocked political figures including Al Gore, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. It frequently offends viewers of all political stripes — among other things, it portrays the Devil as sensitive and emotionally mature and regularly critiques organized religion — and it remains an essential part of the American comedy landscape. Its creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, just signed a five-year deal with Paramount reportedly worth $1.5 billion.
The show — which isn't explicitly ideological and is more anti-establishment in tone, often delighting in puncturing political correctness — has gone after Trump before. But not so clearly or directly. Its latest attack on the president puts it in the company of many other comedians or online influencers who have been teeing off on Trump over Epstein in recent weeks — prima facie evidence that Trump has misread the priorities of the young men who powered him back into office.
When Trump swept back into office, he did so in large part by convincing often non-political young voters to head to the polls and pull the lever for him. Last fall, he was ubiquitous on podcasts and streams that appeal to many of those voters — the kind where the subject matter had ostensibly nothing to do with politics. Trump seemed to understand from decades of experience in front of a camera how to talk about anything and everything. He was unafraid of long, unscripted media hits. Suddenly, though, he's sounding just like the enemies he vanquished.
'No matter how much success we have had, securing the Border, deporting Criminals, fixing the Economy, Energy Dominance, a Safer World where Iran will not have Nuclear Weapons, it's never enough for some people,' he wrote on Truth Social on July 12, in a self-pitying post wondering why his supporters seemed to be abandoning him.
Almost overnight, Trump seemed to lose sight of why he was popular with this demographic in the first place: His straight talk, his ability to call out bullshit, his willingness to pontificate on almost anything, his promises to pull back the curtain on Washington and stick it to a government that always seemed to be hiding something.
Democrats are naturally seizing on his missteps, but the real problem is the issue has extended far beyond the D.C. universe, where it is animating those whose comprehension of the government is marked by vague distrust. The Epstein affair is now a cultural phenomenon, rather than purely political one.
A quick look at many of the podcasters who host Trump-friendly or Trump-agnostic shows reveals just how much this issue resonates beyond simple partisan politics.
At the recent ESPYs, an annual televised awards show dedicated to the best athletes of the year, boundary-pushing comedian Shane Gillis — who has fans across the political spectrum — went right at the Epstein controversy.
'There was supposed to be an Epstein joke here, but I guess it got deleted,' he said. 'It probably deleted itself, right? Probably never existed, actually. Let's move on as a country and ignore that.'
Avowedly pro-Trump podcasters are also zeroing in on the strange whiff emanating from the Epstein situation. Andrew Schulz, a comedian and podcast host who interviewed and voted for Trump, said that his Epstein defense was 'insulting our intelligence.' Podcaster Shawn Ryan, who also had Trump on his show during the 2024 campaign, said on July 15, Trump 'is potentially destroying his entire base by just dismissing it and closing the case … I am extremely frustrated.'
Theo Von, the comedian and podcaster who hosted Trump and Vice President JD Vance on his show before the election, quoted an X post from Vance insisting the Epstein files should be released and asked, 'Yeah, what changed?'
In 2024, Trump seemed to have mastered the art of talking to and connecting with a burgeoning online group of young, disaffected Americans. Now we're seeing there are limits to his control of these largely cultural spaces. As comedians known for their edginess continue to attack him, it's a sign that he's beginning to resemble so many other politicians.
Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com. Or contact tonight's author at cmchugh@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @calder_mchugh.
MORNING MONEY: CAPITAL RISK — POLITICO's flagship financial newsletter has a new Friday edition built for the economic era we're living in: one shaped by political volatility, disruption and a wave of policy decisions with sector-wide consequences. Each week, Morning Money: Capital Risk brings sharp reporting and analysis on how political risk is moving markets and how investors are adapting. Want to know how health care regulation, tariffs, or court rulings could ripple through the economy? Start here.
What'd I Miss?
— U.S. leaves talks for Gaza ceasefire, says Hamas doesn't want to end fighting: The U.S. is pulling out of talks for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, as it believes the militant group isn't negotiating seriously, special envoy Steve Witkoff said today. Witkoff, who traveled to Europe on Wednesday to discuss Gaza and a ceasefire deal, said the group's latest response in the talks in Doha illustrated its unwillingness to end the fighting.
— MAGA mourns death of Hulk Hogan: President Donald Trump and other prominent Republicans are mourning the death of professional wrestler and MAGA ally Hulk Hogan. The president took to Truth Social to commemorate Hogan, who died Thursday at age 71. Trump, who had a longtime connection to World Wrestling Entertainment, had known the wrestler for decades. 'We lost a great friend today, the 'Hulkster.' Hulk Hogan was MAGA all the way — Strong, tough, smart, but with the biggest heart,' Trump wrote. The president praised Hogan's appearance last year at the Republican National Convention.
— Pentagon suspends participation in think tank events: The Pentagon has suspended participation in all think tank and research events until further notice, according to an email sent today to staff and obtained by POLITICO, a major shift in engagement from the country's largest federal agency. The decision comes a week after the Defense Department pulled out of the high-profile Aspen Security Forum citing 'the evil of globalism' and indicating the event did not align with the Trump administration's defense policies. The Pentagon's public affairs office is also reviewing the agency's participation in other top security conferences, according to the email. It specifically banned attendance at the Halifax International Security Forum, which takes place in Nova Scotia each winter and where the Pentagon chief is usually a top guest. The move would sideline the Pentagon from national security dialogues that it has used for decades to advance its policy and explain the department's rationale.
— DeSantis floats mid-decade redistricting for Florida congressional seats: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, fresh off a win at the state Supreme Court over a congressional map he pushed through three years ago, said today the state should consider overhauling its districts between censuses. The GOP governor claimed Florida's map is currently 'malapportioned' due to its population surge and that there's 'ample justification' for a mid-decade redistricting effort.
— New York's Kathy Hochul opens the door to redrawing House lines: Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul is not ruling out a mid-decade redrawing of New York's House lines, as deep red Texas and Ohio move to reshape their maps through redistricting. 'All's fair in love and war. We're following the rules. We do redistricting every 10 years,' Hochul said during an unrelated event today in Buffalo. 'But if there's other states violating the rules and are trying to give themselves an advantage, all I'll say is, I'm going to look at it closely with Hakeem Jeffries.' The governor's comments are her first since Republican Gov. Greg Abbott announced a special session of the Texas Legislature to focus on redistricting.
— Bove moves ahead in confirmation process despite Republican opposition: Emil Bove has narrowly cleared another procedural hurdle toward a lifetime seat on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The Senate voted 50-48 to proceed with consideration of Bove's nomination, with Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins siding with all Democrats in opposition. Bove is President Donald Trump's former criminal defense attorney, and he is now serving as principal associate deputy attorney general as he awaits confirmation to a judgeship on the federal bench.
AROUND THE WORLD
REVERSING COURSE — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy backtracked on his controversial changes to the country's anti-corruption agencies today after outcry at home and abroad.
On Tuesday, Zelenskyy signed into law a bill placing Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies under the authority of the president's loyalist prosecutor general, which agencies said effectively destroyed their independence.
Two days later, Zelenskyy introduced another bill reverting the changes, after he said Wednesday night that he 'heard the public opinion.'
POINTING FINGERS — Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar accused the United Nations of bearing responsibility for aid distribution failures in the Gaza Strip, igniting a war of words with the international agency as starvation spreads in the war-torn territory.
Speaking to POLITICO, Sa'ar said that Israel had opened up more crossing points and was allowing more aid to enter Gaza under a deal struck with the European Union.
The problem was that the U.N. was failing to distribute more than 900 truckloads of aid parked in a fenced-off area near the Kerem Shalom crossing point in the Gaza Strip, he said.
The assertion prompted a strong denial from the U.N., whose spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, placed blame for failures squarely at Israel's feet.
BACKUP PLAN — The European Commission received broad support from EU member countries today for a single round of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods if no trade deal is reached with the Trump administration, two EU diplomats told POLITICO.
Some €93 billion in U.S. products — ranging from soybeans to aircraft — would face tariffs of up to 30 percent, though not all of them would see such a high rate.
With the vote, in which only Hungary objected, the EU tariffs will not take immediate effect. Rather, they will remain suspended until Aug. 7 to allow time to strike a deal with the United States.
Nightly Number
RADAR SWEEP
THE ART OF LYING — Lying is a fundamental human act, and bluffing games of one sort or another are found in cultures around the globe. But mheibes, one of the world's most challenging mental sports, takes it to another level. The centuries-old game, which involves the art of peering into people's faces and uncovering deceit, is popular in Iraq, where Saddam Hussein made it a symbol of the nation in the 1990s. Since then, mheibes teams and tournaments have sprouted across the country. The Atlantic's Jason Anthony reports on the phenomenon from Baghdad.
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