In the last week, journalists have erupted, feuded and generally freaked out over the acquittal of Donald Trump and the implosion of the Democratic Party in the 2020 primaries. So it might be a good time to remember the September 5, 2017 episode of American Horror Story: Cult. The FX series, made by the deeply liberal Ryan Murphy, retold election night 2016 as an apocalyptic meltdown for the show’s characters.
As election returns came in, one character whailed when Trump is declared the winner: “No! Oh... No!... Oh, go to hell, Huffington Post! Fuck you, Nate Silver! Oh, my God, how could they have been so wrong about this?” Breaking down, she sobbed, “Oh, my God!... Merrick Garland. What's gonna happen with Merrick Garland?”
Another character responded with stunned disbelief: “I won't believe anything until I hear Rachel Maddow say it. She's the only one I trust.” The bizarre series featured a deranged Trump supporter humping the television while a sad Hillary Clinton voter laments: “Since election night everything is just so much worse. This is just like what happened to me in college after 9/11 when I couldn't leave my apartment.”
For more on this episode, go here. For more examples from our flashback series, which we call the NewsBusters Time Machine, go here.
