Vice President Kamala Harris makes surprise appearance at The Simpsons panel at SDCC 2024

Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance at The Simpsons panel at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday, July 27. Harris, 59, addressed fans of the Fox animated series in a pre-recorded video clip played at the end of the panel, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In the clip, Harris quoted a classic episode of The Simpsons, saying, "We must move forward, not backward; upward, not forward; and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom." The quote is from the 1996 episode "Treehouse of Horror VII," which originally aired ahead of the presidential election between Bill Clinton and Bob Dole.

The Simpsons creator Matt Groening introduced the clip by saying that the audience was about to hear from a "superfan." No context was given about when the clip was recorded.

Harris' appearance at the panel comes after fans on social media have been pointing out the similarities between the politician and the animated character Lisa Simpson. In a 2000 episode of the series, titled "Bart to the Future," Lisa becomes the first female president. The character's outfit in the episode, which includes a purple blazer and pearl necklace, bears a resemblance to the outfit Harris wore on Inauguration Day in 2021.

The Simpsons writer Al Jean pointed out the similarity in a post on X (formerly Twitter), featuring side-by-side photos of Harris and Lisa. "@TheSimpsons 'prediction' I’m proud to be a part of," Jean wrote, referencing the day that President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and announced his endorsement of Harris.