In reaction to U.S. President Trump's 2020 State of the Union address—as well as to Trump's failure to answer the obligatory handshake—the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, demonstratively ripped up her paper copy of the speech. In response, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted a GIF screenshot from the 1991 Simpsons episode “Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington,” which shows Lisa Simpson, appropriately dressed in a white dress just like Pelosi on the occasion of Trump's speech, as she sobbingly rips up sheets of paper. Pompeo's message of mockery was obvious: both Pelosi and Lisa are weak SJWs.

Bill Oakley, a longtime writer and showrunner of The Simpsons, in turn, responded promptly: “Mr. Secretary of State please do not ever ever ever use Simpsons material in your twitter or watch the show or refer to it in any way.” With this reply, Oakley reiterated the rejection of the Trump administration declared by many who have worked for The Simpsons and are active on Twitter. Even more angrily, Lisa's voice actress, Yeardley Smith, retorted: “I might just add f*ck you @mikepompeo for co-opting my character to troll @SpeakerPelosi.”

But many Twitter users conversant in The Simpsons’ storyworld reacted much more coolly. A wave of replies understood the irony within Pompeo’s tweet. Actually, the scene he has chosen shows a disillusioned Lisa in tears ripping up an essay draft, which originally was supposed to deal with the ideals of American democracy but feels phony after Lisa has discovered the system of corruption which rules Washington, D.C.