How Many Times Has ‘The West Wing’ Predicted The Trump Era?

In the sixth season of South Park, the kids’ weird friend Butters takes on the persona of “Professor Chaos” and attempts various schemes for world domination; standard supervillain stuff. But everything Butters tries is met with the same hollered rejoinder: “The Simpsons did it!” This was certainly a response from South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone to countless complaints from fans and critics that their storylines were cribbed from previous Simpsons episodes.

Currently, the Trump administration’s barrage of eye-opening headlines, each one more outrageous than the last, has me thinking of that “Simpsons Did It” episode, in relation to the dearly departed NBC political drama The West Wing. That show boasted consultants from the Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush administrations and aired (mostly) during George W. Bush’s presidency, so it had plenty of real-life material to draw from. They even, in their later seasons, managed to presage the emergence of Barack Obama as a national figure. But in these early, wild days of the Trump administration, I keep finding myself saying the same thing: “The West Wing did it!”

So many of the issues that Trump’s decisions are touching off feel like warped-mirror versions of stuff that happened on The West Wing. The most eerily familiar came when word began circulating that Trump wanted to move the White House press corps out of their usual place in the West Wing and to a different building, away from the President. This was received as yet another bad omen from a President already hostile to the press, but it was also completely cribbed from a second-season West Wing episode!

In the episode “The Leadership Breakfast,” Sam approaches CJ with an idea that he’d like to send out for polling reaction: could they move the White House press corps — the gaggle of reporters assigned to the White House every day to report from the front lines — to the Old Executive Office Building (OEOB) across the street. C.J.’s reaction? Absolutely not. It’s a terrible idea, the press will go nuts, and more importantly, the American people won’t stand for it. It’ll look like the White House is trying to keep secrets from the press. (Sam: “We are trying to keep secrets from the press.”) Of course, that was on TV. In real life … well, in real life, there doesn’t seem to be much of a limit to what the American public will  stand for from President Trump. Or at least the minority of Americans who voted for him.

But it’s made me consider what other West Wing storylines have been brought to mind via Trump administration actions:

• Reports that EPA scientists’ work will face case-by-case review by the Trump administration? West Wing did it! Season 5, episode 5, “Constituency of One”: C.J. and Leo clash over Leo scrubbing an EPA report about clean coal, while C.J. objects to the White House interfering with an independent agency.
• Myriad debates over Trump’s financial dealings and conflicts of interest and his need to divest from his business interests while President? West Wing did it! Season 1, episode 4, “Five Votes Down”: Toby gets in hot water over stocks he holds that have turned a suspicious profit. Toby ends up cashing out his stocks and reducing his White House salary to $1. Meanwhile, Trump continues to refuse to fully divorce himself from his business dealings at all. And remember when he pledged not to take a salary for being President?
• In season 3, episode 15, “Hartsfield’s Landing,” the President plays a very intricate game of diplomacy with China and Taiwan, so as not to disrupt the delicate balance between the two countries, as volatility in that area could be catastrophic for foreign policy. Meanwhile, as president-elect, Trump bypassed all diplomatic norms by speaking with the Taiwanese.
• In season 1, episode 15, “Celestial Navigation,” Josh delivers a true disaster of a press briefing in which he appears hostile and condescending to the press, an all-time worst that was only recently surpassed by Trump press secretary Sean Spicer.

• Any number of Trump’s cabinet appointees have faced serious criticisms over their qualifications and readiness to assume their cabinet positions, yet none of them appear to be in any serious danger of not being confirmed by the Senate. Meanwhile, The West Wing constantly ran into the brick wall of senate confirmations. In season 4, episode 9: “Swiss Diplomacy,” Toby can’t get a recently ousted Congresswoman appointed to run the National Parks Service because she supported a higher gas tax. In season 5, episode 3, “Jefferson Lives,” President Bartlet can’t get his first choice for Vice-President confirmed simply because the Senate thinks his guy is too good, so instead of getting Lewis Berryhill, Bartlet is saddled with “Bingo” Bob Russell. Meanwhile, Ben Carson is about to be HUD secretary.

And it hasn’t even been a week yet! Who can imagine how many other West Wing storylines will come to mind in the weeks, months, and years to come. Game on.

Stream 'The West Wing' on Netflix