‘South Park’ congratulates President Donald Trump for finally getting an Emmy after the show wins Outstanding Animated Program for episode satirizing him
South Park has won its fifth Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program and the show quickly turned the victory into another jab at one of its frequent targets, President Donald Trump.
At the 78th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, the Comedy Central series won the category for the first time since 2013. Created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, South Park beat Rick and Morty, The Simpsons, Smiling Friends, Bob’s Burgers and Visions for the award.
After the win, the show’s official social media accounts posted a graphic mocking Trump. The image showed an animated Trump with his pants down, clutching an Emmy statuette, alongside the caption, “You finally got your Emmy.”
The post also congratulated Parker, Stone and the rest of the South Park team on the win.
The episode behind the win
The award recognized “Sermon on the ‘Mount,” the season premiere that mocked Trump’s supporters, referenced his connection to Jeffrey Epstein and depicted him in bed with Satan.
The show’s 27th and 28th seasons repeatedly targeted Trump after the series returned to Comedy Central following a two-year hiatus. The season finale went further, featuring a PSA-style segment with a deepfake depicting Trump wandering through a desert while in the buff.
Across the 10 episodes that aired during the Emmy eligibility window, Trump remained a recurring target, with the show using animated versions of the president in several storylines.
Donald Trump’s long, losing history with the Emmys
The joke in South Park‘s celebratory post draws on Trump’s long history with the Emmys.
As an executive producer of NBC’s The Apprentice, Trump was part of two Outstanding Reality-Competition Program nominations, one in 2004 and the other 2005. Both times, the award went to the CBS series The Amazing Race.
Trump has repeatedly criticized the Emmys over the years, at times arguing that the awards were influenced by politics and that The Apprentice deserved to win. In a 2011 online video, he called the Emmys a “con game” and complained that some shows were overlooked while others continued to receive nominations.
He returned to the subject during the finale of The Celebrity Apprentice, saying he had expected the show to win and had stood up before the result was announced, only for The Amazing Race to take the award.
The White House responds
The White House responded to South Park‘s Emmy win by criticizing the show, calling it “irrelevant for 20 years” and accusing it of relying on “uninspired ideas for attention.”
The response adds another chapter to the show’s long history of using political figures and current events as material for satire. Trump has been a recurring target during the show’s latest seasons, with episodes addressing his presidency, political supporters and the controversies surrounding him.
A long wait finally over
The win ends a 13-year wait for South Park in the Outstanding Animated Program category. The show’s previous victories came in 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2013.
The Creative Arts Emmys recognize achievements across a range of television categories and are held ahead of the main Primetime Emmy Awards telecast.
The latest win comes as South Park continues its aggressive political satire. With another season ahead, the president’s ongoing presence in the show’s storylines could provide further material for the series’ trademark political humor.