White House lashes out at 'South Park' Trump parody
In a no-holds-barred season premiere, the animated Trump character is also seen begging Satan for sex, only to be rebuffed -- in part because his penis is too small.
The White House was not amused.
"This show hasn't been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention," spokesperson Taylor Rogers said.
"President Trump has delivered on more promises in just six months than any other president in our country's history -- and no fourth-rate show can derail President Trump's hot streak."
The adult animated series, which frequently touches on hot-button issues in American life, is now in its 27th season and remains one of the world's most valuable TV shows.
The season premiere begins with the foul-mouthed Cartman appalled that NPR has been taken off the air by the president, while Randy, a parent, is disturbed by the presence of Jesus in public elementary school.
Complaints to the fictional White House receive only a threat from Trump to sue the mountain town of South Park for billions of dollars.
Meanwhile, animated Trump is threatening to bomb Canada "like I did Iraq."
"I thought you just bombed Iran," the Canadian prime minister replies.
"Iran, Iraq, what the hell's the difference?" replies Trump.
The episode, which sees the fictional Trump ride rough-shod over many aspects of American life, ends after the town of South Park makes a financial deal with the president that includes an agreement to make public service announcements.
The AI generated short that follows -- ostensibly one of those announcements -- shows an overweight Trump staggering through a desert as a narrator casts him as a latter-day Jesus.
The short ends with a naked Trump as the narrator says: "Trump. His penis is teeny-tiny, but his love for us is large."
- Merger -
The episode aired days after creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone reportedly penned a $1.5 billion streaming deal with Paramount that gives the company global rights.
The deal comes at a sensitive time for Paramount, which is trying to secure government approval for a multi-billion-dollar merger with entertainment company Skydance.
The CBS parent caused a furor this month when it agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit Trump had brought over an interview the storied "60 Minutes" current affairs program aired with Kamala Harris ahead of last November's election.
The payment was criticized by Democrats as little more than a bribe to help smooth the merger, with Paramount initially dismissing Trump's lawsuit as meritless.
Last week CBS sparked fury after it cancelled "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" whose host is a pointed critic of the president.
The network insisted it was a financial decision, but opponents have painted the move as the latest example of American institutions bowing to Trump.
hg/aks
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Boston Globe
a few seconds ago
- Boston Globe
Can his golf course ‘further' US-UK relations? Trump will use meeting with prime minister to try.
During his first term in 2019, Trump posted of his Turnberry property, 'Very proud of perhaps the greatest golf course anywhere in the world. Also, furthers U.K. relationship!' Starmer is not a golfer, but toggling between Trump's Scottish courses shows the outsized influence the president puts on properties bearing his name — and on golf's ability to shape geopolitics. Advertisement While China initially responded to Trump's tariff threats by retaliating with high import taxes of its own on U.S. goods but has since begun negotiating easing trade tensions, Starmer and his country have taken a far softer approach. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up He's gone out of his way to work with Trump, flattering the president repeatedly during a February visit to the White House, and teaming up to announce a joint trade framework on tariffs for some key products in May. Starmer and Trump then signed a trade agreement during the G7 summit in Canada that freed the U.K.'s aerospace sector from U.S. tariffs and used quotas to reduce them on auto-related industries from 25% to 10% while increasing the amount of U.S. beef it pledged to import. The prime minister's office says Monday's meeting will also touch on Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza, and that it hopes to welcome the Trump administration working with officials in Qatar and Egypt to bring about a ceasefire. Advertisement Starmer plans to stress the urgent need to cease the fighting and work to end starvation and other suffering occurring amid increasingly desperate circumstances in Gaza. Also on the agenda, according to Starmer's office, are efforts to promote a possible peace deal to end fighting in Russia's war with Ukraine — particularly efforts at forcing Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table in the next 50 days. Protesters, meanwhile, have planned a demonstration in Balmedie, near Trump's existing course, after demonstrators took to the streets on Saturday to decry the president's visit. Discussions with Starmer follow Trump meeting Sunday with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen at his Turnberry course. They announced a trade framework that will put 15% tariffs on most goods from both countries — though many major details remain pending. On Tuesday, Trump will be at the site of his new course near Aberdeen for an official ribbon cutting. It opens to the public on Aug. 13 and tee times are already for sale — with the course betting that a presidential visit can help boost sales. There are still lingering U.S.-Britain trade issues that need fine-tuning after the previous agreements, including the tariff rates Washington imposes on steel imported from the U.K. Even as some trade details linger and both leaders grapple with increasingly difficult choices in Gaza and Ukraine, however, Starmer's attempts to stay on Trump's good side appears to be working. 'The U.K. is very well-protected. You know why? Because I like them — that's their ultimate protection,' Trump said during the G7. Advertisement Also likely to improve Trump's mood is the fact that the U.S. ran an $11.4 billion trade surplus with Britain last year, meaning it exported more to the U.K. than it imported. Census Bureau figures this year indicate that the surplus could grow. The president has for months railed against yawning U.S. trade deficits with key allies and sees tariffs as a way to try and close them in hurry. Trump is set to return to Britain in September for an unprecedented second state visit. Trump will be hosted then by King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle.


Newsweek
a minute ago
- Newsweek
Thousands of Boeing Employees Could Strike Next Week: What To Know?
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. More than 3,200 union workers at three St. Louis-area plants that produce U.S. fighter jets voted "overwhelmingly" to go on strike on Sunday after they rejected a proposed contract that included a 20 percent wage increase over four years. The company said it was preparing for a strike that the union said could begin on Aug. 4. Why It Matters The company has faced serious difficulties over recent years including several safety-related incidents. In March, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Boeing had lost the trust of the American people and needed strict oversight after a mid-air panel blowout on a new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 airplane that was missing four key bolts and two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. A Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed in India last month killing 260 people. A strike late last year by machinists' union memes put a heavy toll on the company, compounding existing production issues and stalling the manufacturing of its key aircraft, including the 737 MAX, 767, and 777 models. Pro-union signs are pictured outside the Boeing Renton Production Facility on November 3, 2024. More than 3,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers in the St. Louis area voted on Sunday... Pro-union signs are pictured outside the Boeing Renton Production Facility on November 3, 2024. More than 3,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers in the St. Louis area voted on Sunday to go on strike. MoreWhat To Know The International Machinists and Aerospace Workers union, or IAM, said the vote by District 837 members was overwhelmingly against the proposed contract. The current contract was to expire at 11:59 p.m. CT on Sunday, but the union said a "cooling off" period would keep a strike from beginning for a week, until Aug. 4, according to The Associated Press. Union leaders had recommended approving Boeing's offer sent last week, calling it a "landmark" agreement that the offer would improve medical, pension and overtime benefits in addition to pay. Dan Gillian, Boeing's Air Dominance vice president, general manager and senior St. Louis Site executive said in an emailed statement that the company was disappointed that the Boeing employees voted down "the richest contract offer we've ever presented to IAM 837 which addressed all their stated priorities." The Boeing Air Dominance division produces several military jets, including the U.S. Navy's Super Hornet, as well as the Air Force's Red Hawk training aircraft. The division is expanding manufacturing facilities in the St. Louis area for the new U.S. Air Force fighter, the F-47, after it won the contract earlier this year. The Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter jet program, initially conceived as a "family of systems" centered around a sixth-generation fighter jet, is meant to replace the F-22 Raptor. What People Are Saying Boeing's Air Dominance Vice President Gillian said in the statement: "We've activated our contingency plan and are focused on preparing for a strike. No talks are scheduled with the union." IAM said in a statement: "Union members delivered a clear message: the proposal from Boeing Defense fell short of addressing the priorities and sacrifices of the skilled IAM Union workforce. Our members are standing together to demand a contract that respects their work and ensures a secure future." What Happens Next The strike is due to begin after a one-week "cooling off" period, on Aug. 4.


New York Times
a minute ago
- New York Times
U.S. and China Meet as Trade Truce Nears Expiration
Top officials from the Trump administration will meet with their Chinese counterparts in Sweden this week for their third formal round of economic talks since President Trump raised tariffs on Chinese imports to triple-digit levels this year. The primary goal is to extend a fragile trade truce that has prevented a devastating clash between the world's largest economies. The discussions are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday in Stockholm. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Jamieson Greer, the United States trade representative, are leading the U.S. delegation. He Lifeng, the vice premier for economic policy, has been leading the talks on behalf of China. The negotiations come during a pivotal week for the global economy, which has been gripped by uncertainty as a result of Mr. Trump's chaotic trade agenda. The Trump administration has been trying to win concessions from many countries before an Aug. 1 deadline for reimposing tariffs announced in April. Those levies were suspended in order to reach trade deals. Over the last week, the Trump administration has announced deals with some of America's biggest trading partners in quick succession. Last Tuesday, the United States and Japan finally agreed to a deal that included a 15 percent tariff on Japanese imports and a pledge from Japan to invest $550 billion in the United States. On Sunday, Mr. Trump announced that he had also reached a deal with the European Union, a 27-nation bloc whose economies rely on exports to the United States. The deal would put a 15 percent tariff on many European exports, including cars. But one of the biggest unknowns is what will happen with China, which remains one of America's largest source of imports. After a tit-for-tat period of tariffs and retaliation, the two nations have come to something of an uneasy truce after talks in Geneva in May, and in London in June. On Sunday, before he met with European officials, Mr. Trump implied that some kind of trade arrangement with China might be close at hand. 'We just struck a deal with Japan as you know, and we're very close to a deal with China,' he said. This will be the first meeting between the countries without an imminent crisis, like the tariff standoff or China's economically crippling ban on rare earth exports this year. Trade experts said the list of potential topics for discussion was long, ranging from Mr. Trump's push to get China to stop the flow of fentanyl to the United States, to America's concerns about its purchases of Russian and Iranian oil, and recent exit bans that have prevented U.S. citizens from leaving China. U.S. officials appear to be looking forward to more ambitious trade talks in the months to come. Those could include Chinese purchases of American products, steps to open the Chinese market and, potentially, Chinese investment in the United States. They are also likely seeking to lay the groundwork for a potential meeting between Mr. Trump and Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader, this year. Administration officials are considering a trip to Beijing before a meeting of Asian and Pacific countries in South Korea in October, or potentially connecting Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi on the sidelines of an international meeting. Michael Pillsbury, a former government official who has advised the Trump administration on China, said this would be Mr. Trump's sixth summit meeting with Mr. Xi. Each of those summits had a minimum of two hours of dialogue, and Mr. Trump went prepared with specific deal-making requests, he said. 'The president feels it's better to deal face to face,' he said. Trade experts are also wondering whether U.S. technology controls or an agreement to transfer ownership of TikTok may be on the negotiating table. On CNBC on Thursday, Howard Lutnick, the secretary of commerce, said that the United States had submitted a proposal to China for transferring ownership of TikTok to American companies, and that the administration was waiting for the Chinese response. The topic was 'not officially' part of the trade talks, he said, 'but unofficially, of course.' Tensions between the United States and China started to spiral after Mr. Trump announced his 'Liberation Day' tariffs in early April. China was the only country to immediately retaliate, matching Mr. Trump's tariffs of 34 percent with 34 percent tariffs on American products. Beijing also set up a licensing system to restrict exports of seven rare earth elements that are processed almost exclusively in China and used in electric cars, smart bombs and other high-tech devices. Mr. Trump then responded by ratcheting up tariffs on Chinese products to a minimum of 145 percent, which brought much of the trade between the countries to a halt. The previous rounds of negotiations secured a temporary truce that included China's relaxing its restrictions on shipments of valuable rare earth minerals and magnets needed by U.S. manufacturers. In return, U.S. officials agreed to roll back limits on exports of U.S. products and technology, including ethane and airplane parts, as well as the proposed visa restrictions. U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports were scaled back to 30 percent, while China has 10 percent tariffs on American products. The truce is scheduled to expire on Aug. 12, after which tariffs would rise 10 percentage points. However, Mr. Bessent has been optimistic that the truce could be extended. In an interview on the Fox Business Network last week, Mr. Bessent said that 'trade is in a good place' with China. He added that he hoped to begin having broader discussions with his counterparts about rebalancing the Chinese economy and encouraging China to curb purchases of Russian and Iranian oil. Mr. Bessent said China was in a manufacturing slump and faced a residential real estate market crisis. He argued Beijing must focus on building a consumer economy. 'They can't export their economic problems to the rest of the world, they need to solve them,' Mr. Bessent said. U.S. companies continue to have a rash of criticisms about doing business in China, including the country's newly established rare earth licensing system. The processing time for licenses is long, American firms say, and China requests proprietary and sensitive business information as part of the applications. In a survey released this month, members of the U.S.-China Business Council said strained relations and tariffs between the two countries remained their biggest concerns. But they also said Chinese policies favoring domestic companies were eroding confidence in doing business in the country.