Skip to main content

Mike Pompeo Tried to Insult Nancy Pelosi With a Lisa Simpson Meme & It Backfired Spectacularly

Lisa Simpson stands in front of a microphone looking furious at democracy.

image: Fox

In what I’m sure he thought was an absolute own, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted a picture of Lisa Simpson with the clear implication that it was meant to be a comparison to Nancy Pelosi ripping up Donald Trump’s State of the Union address.

Recommended Videos

Did Pompeo really think this was an insult? The image is from the episode “Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington,” in which Lisa wins a trip to D.C. after writing an essay about how great America is. After witnessing a member of congress accept a bribe from a logging lobbyist who wants to demolish Springfield Forest, she loses faith in the American government as it stands. That seems … pretty apt.

By the way, the episode ends with Lisa rewriting her essay to condemn the sort of corruption she witnessed and while she doesn’t win the contest, she’s proud of herself for speaking out. Also, the essay is not only better than her original one but it’s effective as hell and that corrupt lawmaker is arrested.

So if that’s what Pompeo is trying to convey, then well done, Mike. Message received!

Not only did Pompeo clearly misunderstand the message of the image he was posting, he also seems to misunderstand just how much Lisa Simpson rules.

Ted Cruz tried this a couple of years ago when he said that “the Democrats are the party of Lisa Simpson and the Republicans are, happily, the party of Homer and Bart and Maggie and Marge.” It’s just the weirdest misreading of these characters and the show in general imaginable.

It’s like Mike Pompeo saw Cruz’s mistake and said, “Hold my Duff.”

Even Lisa Simpson herself would like Pompeo to know just how bad and wrong his take is.

Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!

The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—

Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

Author
Vivian Kane
Vivian Kane (she/her) is the Senior News Editor at The Mary Sue, where she's been writing about politics and entertainment (and all the ways in which the two overlap) since the dark days of late 2016. Born in San Francisco and radicalized in Los Angeles, she now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where she gets to put her MFA to use covering the local theatre scene. She is the co-owner of The Pitch, Kansas City’s alt news and culture magazine, alongside her husband, Brock Wilbur, with whom she also shares many cats.

Filed Under:

Follow The Mary Sue: