South Park continues its mockery of the Trump Administration in its latest episode, in which Trump’s tarifffs come for… Labubus.
If you’re asking, “what is a Labubu,” you’re not the only one: Jesus Christ himself asks in a brief trailer for the new episode — which also features Trump and Satan descending the steps of Air Force One — “what is a Labubu?”
A Labubu, for the unschooled, is a type of stylish plush figurine designed by artist Kasing Lung and sold by Pop Mart. Labubus have become a viral sensation in part because they are sold in “blind boxes,” meaning recipients of Labubus are surprised by which one they get.
The latest episode finds Butters striving to impress his girlfriend by surprisng her with a Labubu. But Donald Trump stands in the way.
“Butters experiences the reality of tariffs when he has to buy a Labubu doll for his girlfriend’s birthday in an all-new episode on Wednesday, September 3 at 10/9c on Comedy Central and next day on Paramount+,” the show said in a summary of the new episode, released with a brief teaser you can watch here:
South Park, Labubus, and the Trump Administration
Over three decades, South Park has earned a reputation as one of the few entertainment outlets known for going after people of all political stripes, with no trademark outrageousness.
The focus on tariffs opens a new front in South Park‘s critiques of the second Trump Administration. The show, which is enjoying massive attention and spiking ratings for its latest, 27th season, previously drew counter-attacks from Department of Homeland Security Chief Kristi Noem and Trump himself for its portrayals of them.
In the show’s season premiere, Trump was portrayed frolicking with no clothes on, bedding down with Satan, and worrying about the size of his member. The season premiere also referenced the Epstein list, an alleged list of documents naming names of people connected with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes. (Trump has called on the press and his followers to stop worrying about Epstein and to move on.)
In later episodes, Noem was portrayed with a melting face — a shot at her image makeover prior to joining the Trump Administration.
Later, the show released a short scene in which Noem shoots up a pet store — a reference to the time, which she detailed in her memoir, No Going Back, that she shot and killed an “untrainable” dog named Cricket because he was misbehaving and killing a local family’s chickens.
“I hated that dog,” she wrote, adding that killing Cricket “was not a pleasant job, but it had to be done.” She uses her killing of the dog as an example of her willingness to do unpleasant tasks.
Appearing on Glenn Beck’s podcast, Noem responded to South Park‘s portrayal of her face melting: “It’s so lazy to just constantly make fun of women for how they look. … If they wanted to criticize my job, go ahead and do that. But clearly they can’t — they just pick something petty like that.”
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers, meanwhile, said in a statement that the show “hasn’t been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention.”
The creators of the show, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, have let the episodes do the talking. Asked about the furor at San Diego’s Comic-Con International, Parker replied simply, “We’re terribly sorry” — then held a long, deadpan stare.
The latest South Park airs on Comedy Central tonight at 10/9c and is available Thursday on Paramount+.
Main image: South Park. Comedy Central.