Sesame Street has a character named Donald Grump, a Grouch who hoards stinky piles of trash and has a fragile ego. The United States has a president named Donald Trump, who...well you can decide how much that description matches.
Coincidence? The internet thinks not.
The president signed an executive order to halt all federal funding to PBS, the free public broadcasting service. Almost immediately, people began to suspect that Trump’s vendetta against the network wasn’t because of its “woke programming.” Instead, it’s all to do with a certain puppet show that has been trolling the man since the ’80s.
Yes, it’s true. One of Trump’s longest-running haters isn’t one of the many people he allegedly scammed nor any investigators from the IRS looking into billionaire tax fraud. It’s Sesame Street—the educational children’s program that taught generations of kids to read and count.
Ronald Grump
Before Donald Grump, there was first Ronald Grump.
Close your eyes and think back to 1988. The hairstyles are kooky. The TV quality is grainy. And Ronald Grump, the famous Grouch builder, is on the market to build “Grump Tower”—a condominium made from trash cans.
The only problem? Oscar the Grouch owns the Sesame Street property that Grump desperately wants. So, Grump approaches Oscar with a trade: “Your part of the deal would be to get your can out of here. My part would be to put my building here and let you live in it.”
Of course, it’s all a big con, but Oscar doesn’t know that. He signs the deal only to quickly realize why no one should trust a Grouch like Ronald Grump.
To get out of the contract, Oscar has to pay Grump 40 bags of trash, but he doesn’t have that kind of waste lying around. Desperate, Grump turns to the Sesame Street adults for help, and the community comes together to pay off his debt. They throw Grump in the trash and run him out of town.
In the end, the Muppets of Sesame Street are free from the Grump reign of terror. (If only we could say the same.)
Joe Pesci as Ronald Grump
For the 25th anniversary of the show in 1994, Sesame Street brought in Goodfellas actor Joe Pesci to go all-in on the Trump trolling.
Once again, Ronald Grump is up to no good. He wants to turn Sesame Street into “Grump World.”
At first, Grump tries to convince the Muppets that Grump World isn’t for him; it’s for them (duh).
“I love you people. You deserve some of the finer things. Trust me, you won’t miss all this,” Grump says. “You all get shiny new apartments! You’ll even get a concierge.”
(Is anyone getting tariff flashbacks?)
When the residents don’t take the bait, Grump switches up his tune, throwing a tantrum in front of everyone.
“OK, OK, that’s it! I tried to be nice to you people, but you don’t want to listen! You got two weeks—pack up and get out!”
Naturally, the only person who stands to make money from Grump World is Grump himself. Who could have seen that coming?
Donald Grump and the Grouch Apprentice
The year is 2005, and Ronald Grump is now Donald Grump—a Grouch who claims to have “more trash than anyone in the world” and dons ill-fitting business suits while putting his burnt Cheeto-colored hair in a combover. Not to mention, his eyebrows could use a few threading sessions.
In a parody of The Apprentice, the reality television show that solidified Trump’s fame in 2005, Grump heads to Sesame Street to announce to the “poor” crowd of puppets that he is in search of an apprentice.
“I’m Donald Grump, and I have more trash than all of you, so nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah,” Grump boasts.
Elmo and a few Grouches are the only ones interested in the competition. They buy into Grump’s “I’m the trashiest” schtick, ignoring all the warning signs about his rotten attitude.
After undergoing a series of trashy trials, Elmo emerges as the clear winner. However, Grump doesn’t want to hire him, as he is simply too competent.
“I’m a Grouch! I can’t have a good helper! I got my reputation to think of,” Grump says. “Scram! You’re fired.”
This leaves Elmo beyond devastated, upset that he won’t have the chance to make big “trash” bucks that Grump promised.
Once again, Grump has proven himself to be a liar.
