"He does know Lisa wins the Presidency, right?" writes one Twitter user.
Ted Cruz tried to use "The Simpsons" to prop up the Republican party on Thursday and it totally backfired.
"The Democrats are the party of Lisa Simpson and Republicans are happily the party of Homer, Bart, Maggie and Marge," Cruz said at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
His comment was in response to Ben Domenech from The Federalist comparing the gun control debate to a 1997 episode of the Fox series where Lisa says the Second Amendment "is a remnant from revolutionary days — it has no meaning today."
Shortly after the Texas Senator's remarks started to circulate through Twitter, the cartoon's showrunner Al Jean expressed his disapproval and made it clear Maggie wouldn't vote Republican.
"Ted Cruz says Maggie Simpson would vote for him. I think Ted's the one who could use a pacifier in his mouth," Jean tweeted. "The way things are going, even Mr. Burns is thinking of becoming a Democrat," he added.
The series is infamous for its predictions and even guessed in 2000 that Donald Trump would someday become president, before being succeeded by Lisa Simpson. This point was mentioned in quite a few of the tweets that went viral after Cruz's comments.
"Bart is named as an anagram for brat. Homer is a complete idiot. Maggie is a baby. Lisa becomes president as an adult and is actually Donald Trump's successor. I don't know who fed Ted Cruz that line, but they obviously don't watch 'The Simpsons,'" sports writer Brian Murphy said.
"My new conspiracy theory, which I believe with all my heart, is that Ted Cruz has never seen 'The Simpsons' and a staffer just read the Wikipedia page to him," New Republic reporter Sarah Jones added.
Keep reading to see how Twitter laughed and rolled its virtual eyes at the Texas senator.
The NRA hijacking Leslie Knope. Ted Cruz trying to co-opt The Simpsons. These are symptoms of the GOP panicking ‘cuz smart teens are owning them left and right, but not knowing how to reach said teens. Next up: Rubio raps!
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) February 22, 2018
Ted Cruz trying to be hip by talking about the Simpsons. pic.twitter.com/icmMoZm4T7
— AJ ⚾️ (@NCSox) February 22, 2018
BITCH LISA IS THE BEST ONE https://t.co/KJ7AIhiwqm
— Megan Amram (@meganamram) February 22, 2018
Yeah, clearly the party of Ted Cruz. pic.twitter.com/0G2aKztQ84
— Denizcan James (@MrFilmkritik) February 22, 2018
Ted Cruz said that "the Democrats are the party of Lisa Simpson."
— Nick Jack Pappas (@Pappiness) February 22, 2018
He does know Lisa wins the Presidency, right? pic.twitter.com/ySyIU54gdQ
The entire point of the Simpsons is that Homer is a walking example of what not to do and Lisa is the voice of reason. Ted Cruz is the least self-aware organism on the planet. pic.twitter.com/giiuUz8sOK
— Joe Berkowitz (@JoeBerkowitz) February 22, 2018
Sen. Ted Cruz: "I think the Democrats are the party of Lisa Simpson."
— Jarett Wieselman (@JarettSays) February 22, 2018
Me: Hell yeah it is. pic.twitter.com/ARnTCPqNC8
Does... does Ted Cruz know that the long-running gag is that Lisa is the only smart Simpson and everyone else is a biting parody of stupid, boorish Americans? There was even a whole episode about that - Lisa The Simpson.
— Dan Stapleton (@DanStapleton) February 22, 2018
No, I suppose he doesn't. https://t.co/ebpagAj0ep
Hey @tedcruz I wrote for The Simpsons for 6 years. You are not the party of Homer Simpson. Homer knows how to use a dummy account for porn.
— Daniel Chun 🇺🇸 (@dannychun) February 22, 2018
Matt Groening, please tell Ted Cruz to keep the Simpsons out of his mouth.
— Joe Fourhman (@fourhman) February 22, 2018
Ted Cruz said the Democrats are th party of Lisa Simpson...
— Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) February 22, 2018
I would say Ted Cruz is like “Milhouse” but Milhouse is smart and defends the woman he loves when she is insulted.
Tonight on NEWFOXNEWSTV:
— Joss Whedon (@joss) February 22, 2018
8:00 Miami ICE
9:00 Law & Order: We’re the Victims Unit
10:00 The Simpsons Except For Lisa
10:30 KLAN*ish
11:00 We’re Still Legally Allowed To Call This “News” For Some Reason
“I think the Democrats are the party of Lisa Simpson, and the Rrpublicans are, happily, the party of Homer and Bart and Maggie and Marge.” Ted Cruz off to a great start here. #CPAC2018
— ana marie cox (@anamariecox) February 22, 2018
Didn't Lisa Simpson become president to replace President Trump in an old Simpsons episode? https://t.co/GgckYXu4B1
— Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) February 22, 2018
Bart is named as an anagram for brat.
— Brian Murphy (@Spokes_Murphy) February 22, 2018
Homer is a complete idiot.
Maggie is a baby.
Lisa becomes president as an adult and is actually Donald Trump's successor.
I don't know who fed Ted Cruz that line, but they obviously don't watch The Simpsons. https://t.co/9dQBuHp64a
George H.W Bush in 1992: “American families should be more like The Waltons and less like the Simpsons”
— Evan Susser (@EvanSusser) February 22, 2018
Ted Cruz in 2018: “Eat my shorts! I’m Bart!” https://t.co/I1aigFjkGO
"I am Ted Cruz, and I like normal human things like 'The Simpsons' and other popular TV entertainment."
— Christopher Farnsworth (@chrisfarnsworth) February 22, 2018
I have had a number of requests to explain the Ted Cruz/Simpsons comments but ... I .... can't. pic.twitter.com/WksviYEFjd
— Lisa Tozzi (@lisatozzi) February 22, 2018
lisa is the best character, moron.
— Inkoo Kang (@inkookang) February 22, 2018
and yet somehow ted cruz watching THE SIMPSONS wrong for the last 29 years is the least sad thing about him. https://t.co/FaPwmjPVnD
Ted Cruz might not understand The Simpsons, but The Simpsons understand Ted Cruz… pic.twitter.com/4UamwlwVB0
— Nolen Gertz (@ethicistforhire) February 22, 2018
I'll assume Ted Cruz's Simpsons comment is an open endorsement of beating the shit out of George H. W. Bush.
— Cody Johnston (@drmistercody) February 22, 2018
What's the difference between Ted Cruz and The Simpsons?
— Scott Weinberg (@scottEweinberg) February 22, 2018
The Simpsons is funny on purpose.
has Ted Cruz...watched The Simpsons? https://t.co/CDQKHsWA5c
— Nathan Bernhardt (@jonbernhardt) February 22, 2018
my new conspiracy theory, which I believe with all my heart, is that Ted Cruz has never seen the Simpsons and a staffer just read the Wikipedia page to him
— Sarah Jones (@onesarahjones) February 22, 2018
ted cruz was 19 when the simpsons debuted and in his early to mid twenties when the show was at its peak, MY MAN, how are you still confused about which of the family members is supposed to be the straight man
— Kristin Chirico (@lolacoaster) February 22, 2018
Let's not forget that the Simpsons were created by Matt Groening, who isn't really a fan of either American party. pic.twitter.com/qHxX5HlYPo
— Sean (@Willetton) February 22, 2018
The Simpsons are social satire & Lisa represents the intelligent, rational few who are regularly drowned out in society by the loud & boorish Homers of the world. Idk if Ted meant it to be accurate in that way, tho https://t.co/7yFKLbgxz2
— Bree Newsome (@BreeNewsome) February 22, 2018
canonically speaking, these are the only Republicans on the Simpsons pic.twitter.com/fJqVockVBE
— Kleeongchang Olympics 2018 (@MilesKlee) February 22, 2018
The Simpsons predict the future. Again. pic.twitter.com/rI665bHbBL
— The Anon Journal (@TheAnonJournal) February 22, 2018
No Republican has ever seen The Simpsons. We knew this in 1992, then we forgot it for a quarter of a century, and now, as punishment, we have to learn it all over again.
— Kaleb Horton (@kalebhorton) February 22, 2018
Ted Cruz says Democrats are the party of Lisa Simpson.
— Adam Best (@adamcbest) February 22, 2018
What he left out is that Republicans are the party of Mr. Burns.
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