A ‘Simpsons’ writer is running for president and visiting Springfields, including ours

“If I want to follow the show’s example and use Springfield as a lens for understanding America, I need to go to all the Springfields, or at least as many as I can.”

2 minutes to read

After finding fame writing about a fictional Springfield and its yellow-hued inhabitants, a writer for “The Simpsons” is visiting the Massachusetts city of the same name Friday as part of his 2028 presidential bid.

Dan Greaney, the TV writer who predicted Donald Trump’s presidency in a 2000 “Simpsons” episode, embarked on a 17-state tour this week as he campaigns in various cities and towns that share Springfield’s name.

“The Simpsons never said which Springfield the family lived in because the town was meant to stand in for all of them,” Greaney said in a press release. “If I want to follow the show’s example and use Springfield as a lens for understanding America, I need to go to all the Springfields, or at least as many as I can.”

The Duxbury native and presidential hopeful has already visited Springfields in New Hampshire and Vermont, according to his campaign website. His two-day stint in the Springfield, Massachusetts, area features stops at Deerfield Academy, Donut Dip, and a Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce event.

Greaney, a Harvard College alum, is running as a self-proclaimed “progressive Republican” to succeed President Donald Trump in 2028. On his website, he explains that he was “disgusted into action” after seeing Trump “surrounded by tech billionaires and CEOs” at the 2025 inauguration.

“I realized that nobody was going to save us, and that self-respect required me to at least try to do something,” Greaney said, adding, “I used what I had, my claim to fame as the writer of the episode of The Simpsons that predicted Trump, to predict his downfall. This was an expression of both conviction and my deepest values.”

In addition to his TV credits, Greaney’s website also touts his experience as a reporter, lawyer, and media entrepreneur. And some of his high-powered comedy friends have already taken note of his campaign.

“I did hear Dan Greaney was running for president. Well, I’ll vote for him,” fellow Massachusetts native and “Simpsons” alum Conan O’Brien said earlier this year in a podcast interview with Matt Groening, the show’s creator.

“We’re not predicting he wins, by the way,” Groening chimed in.

Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between. She has been covering the Lindsay Clancy murder case since January 2023.

Sign up for the Today newsletter

Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.