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Among the multiple budget cuts faced by many public bodies, the Trump’s administration move to de-fund the public television department is quite striking. The department is responsible for Sesame Street – one of the most beloved children's series the world over.
The show however, shares a peculiar connection with the current US President, and may have warned the world of his divisive narrative, as early as 2005.
Sesame Street’s parody character ‘Ronald Grump’ appears in three episodes, spanning nearly 20 years, planting thoughts of chaos and inspiring a political movement.
In his limited run, the fictional ‘Grump’, inspired acts of tyranny, which eerily echo the claims made during his 2015 presidential campaign.
One representation of Grump, was portrayed by famous actor Joe Pesci, who planned to demolish Sesame Street, in order to create a ‘lavish, new Grump Tower’, filled with promises of the ‘finer things’ that the residents could expect. When the residents of Sesame Street objected, the unsympathetic Grump lost his temper and lashed out at everyone present.
On the show, Pesci’s Grump said“I tried to be nice to you people, but you didn’t want to listen! That’s it! You’ve got two weeks to pack up and scram”
In a second appearance, Grump appeared as a muppet, who approached the character ‘Grouch’ with a real estate idea. “The name’s Grump, Ronald Grump, and I’m a builder” claimed the muppet boldly. Grouch, who was living in a trash can prior to Grump’s arrival, was swayed by the builder, to stay in his audacious new ‘Grump Tower’, which consisted of trash cans stacked on top of one another. Grump made lofty promises to Grouch, and even offered to throw in three bags of garbage to ‘sweeten the deal’.
By the time Grouch moved in, he, however, was kicked out by Grump for failing to read his contract (written on a crumpled brown paper bag), which stated that no pets were allowed.
In his final appearance, Grump was portrayed as a politician, sporting a flaming orange wig, conducting an apprentice-style reality show starring the famous muppets of the show.
He enlisted the muppets into a contest to become his helper, making them compete with one another, performing menial tasks, like sorting his old sneakers.
When a pair of Grouches’ performance displeased him, Grump told them to leave Sesame Street.
Trump isn’t the first president to desire the elimination of public broadcasting funds. As the show now airs on HBO, Trump’s plan is only as likely to destroy Sesame Street, as Ronald Grump was.
(With inputs from The Independent)
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