Many people would argue that the current state of the US is scary, even with professionals like Dan Vergano, a senior editor at Scientific America, stating that “We should all be worried that the US is headed toward an autocracy” (Vergano). But what could be leading people to have this thought?

 President Trump’s administration has caused a large number of people to worry about the future state of the US, as it, referring to the US government, has “acted illegally and unconstitutionally in ways that weaken our democratic institutions, slow down our economy, roll back protections for public health and the environment, and put healthcare and Social Security benefits at risk for millions of Americans,” states Congressman Steve Cohen, a US representative from Tennessee. Cohen has many concerns on the topic of Trump’s presidency, with one of his major concerns being his deportation and detention of American immigrants. He states, “In 2025, the Trump administration expanded its use of immigration enforcement to target foreign nationals, particularly students, researchers, and legal residents—some for accused of engaging in, or merely being adjacent to pro-Palestinian activism, some without any explanation at all” (Cohen, Steve). Many people have been pointing out that this type of behavior can easily be viewed as a way to act on racist thoughts and desires all while being able to pass it off as the protection of our country. With all the controversy and day to day issues occurring in our country, many, including myself,share the same thought,“I wonder what South Park will have to say about this.” 

Season 27 of South Park was announced on April 1st of 2025, along with a teaser trailer full of clips that were later revealed to not be a part of the season. When this was revealed, people immediately started pondering what direction Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators and head directors of South Park, were going to take during the new season. South Park is known for their comedic yet ruthless  commentary on pop culture and current national and global issues, and with all the things happening in the US, it was obvious that they were going to deliver said commentary on the current state of our country, and they did.

The first episode of season 27 of South Park begins with the character Eric Cartman waking up to the news that his favorite radio show, NPR, has been shut down, a very relevant topic for the show to touch on, as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), “the largest single source of funding for research, technology, and program development for public radio, television, and related online services” (CPB), recently had its funding taken away due to a rescission bill signed by President Trump. The CPB was the main source of funding for NPR and PBS, two programs who often base themselves in educating people on current world issues. Although NPR is fairly neutral politically, it is frequently accused of having a democratic bias, with the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform claiming that both NPR and PBS “annually and consistently push a left-leaning narrative, catering to a narrow, ideologically aligned audience rather than the diverse public they claim to serve” (Committee on Oversight and Government Reform). The claim that NPR is liberal is mentioned in the episode, as Cartman only liked listening to NPR to “hear liberals wine.” The episode continues as Cartman goes to school, where he and his friends, Stan, Kyle, Butters, and Kenny, are called into the gym for an assembly in which their principal announces that their school will now be following the Christian Bible’s teachings. Jesus Christ, a recurring character in South Park, then walks into the gym and says that he will be staying at the school to help the kids whenever they need it. South Park is using the literal presence of Jesus Christ as a means to show how the US government is allowing and persuading “state school boards, legislatures, and other education officials [to greenlight] a series of measures that would infuse Christianity into public schools … The measures that would directly bring religion into public school buildings include requirements that the Ten Commandments be posted in classrooms, a policy setting aside time for prayer in school, and an order to incorporate the Bible into instruction” (Schultz, Brooke). 

The implementation of one specific religion into public education directly goes against the freedom of religion that our country promises its citizens, something that South Park recognizes as the boy’s parents are against Jesus being in their children's school, stressing the importance of the separation of church and state. So, the South Park parents blame the president, saying that he doesn't even carry American values, and all they've seen him do is sue people. So they raid Mr. Garrison’s house, a teacher at South Park Elementary, and the character that South Park had previously used to satire Donald Trump’s presidency during his first term. They confront_who__ but he claims that he is “done with that president stuff.” The episode then cuts to a scene following a direct caricature of President Trump in which he is revealed to be in a sexual relationship with Satan, another recurring character on South Park. While Satan and Trump are in bed together, Trump gets up and  walks around the White House threatening to sue people. In October of 2024, while Trump was running his presidential campaign, he sued Paramount and CBS for 10 billion dollars, as he took issue with them airing two different portions of Harris' response to a question about the Middle East (“Paramount, President Trump Reach $16 Million Settlement over “60 Minutes” Lawsuit”), also, in July of 2025, President Trump filed a 10 billion dollar lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal for reporting on the letter that Trump had allegedly written to the late, alleged financier and alleged sex offender Jeffery Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003 (Hill). Those are just two of many lawsuits that President Trump has filed against news stations and reporters both during his presidential campaign and after he was elected. In South Park’s satire of Trump, Trump even sues the town of South Park for 5 billion dollars, due to them confronting him on Jesus being in their kid’s school. After the lawsuit is filed, Jesus has everyone in the town of South Park gather around so he can break the fourth wall and tell them to “shut up” and stop making jokes about Trump, so he doesn’t sue Paramount and Comedy Central. 

The 2nd episode of South Park’s latest season continues to cover the topics that it did in the previous episode, this happens all while adding commentary on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency in charge of detaining and deporting immigrants. This episode also speaks on the rising popularity of political debates, as it follows Cartman through his journey of trying to become a “master debater.” It's important to note that South Park parodies the late Charlie Kirk in this episode, as Cartman styles his hair to look like Kirk’s. While this episode did air before Charlie Kirk’s death, it was pulled from reruns following the conservative debater’s killing, out of respect for him and his family (Blanchet). 

This episode follows South Park Elementary's student counselor, Mr. Mackey, after Jesus replaced him at his job. Mr. Macky, now without a job, joins ICE as a means to make money. The episode goes on to show Mr. Macky and the rest of ICE going on multiple raids across South Park, two of them including a Dora the Explorer live performance and the Christian afterlife, Heaven. This is clearly commentary on the morality of ICE, who have been facing a large amount of backlash since they've detained and deported people who have since proven themselves to be in the US legally, an example of one of these people would be Yunseo Chung, a Columbia undergraduate and green card holder who was targeted by ICE using a pretextual arrest warrant (Cohen). During the scenes including ICE raids, the show pokes fun at the US’s secretary of homeland security, Kristi Noem. Throughout the episode they have her face constantly falling off, making fun of her plastic surgery procedures (Gaspich). The show also has multiple instances of her shooting and killing dogs. In Kristi Noem’s book, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward,” she admits to shooting and killing her 14 month old dog for being a bad hunting dog and killing some of her neighbor’s chickens (Pengelly). Noem responded to her parody on X stating: “It’s so lazy to just constantly make fun of women for how they look. Only the liberals and the extremists do that. If they wanted to criticize my job, go ahead and do that, but clearly they can’t, they just pick something petty like that.” South Park then responded by posting a clip that didn’t make the episode, which shows her walking into a pet store and shooting more dogs (Mastrangelo). 

Since the first episode, Stan’s dad, Randy Marsh, had been using ChatGPT to help him answer simple questions and make conversation,  mostly serving as quick jokes in between major scenes. The third episode brings Randy’s experience with AI to the spotlight after ICE deports all of the employees working on his marijuana farm. Randy then uses ChatGPT to help him come up with a plan on how to fix his business. Studies show that humans, with their increasing dependence on AI, are seeing a 27.7% loss in decision making skills (Ahmad et al.), something South Park recognizes with this episode. 

Episode four sees Butters trying to find a Labubu for his girlfriend. Labubu blind boxes are a recent craze in pop culture which contain little monster dolls, very reminiscent of “where the wild things are.” They have gained much popularity on social media and in adolescence (Kim). South Park’s parody on Labubus has the hard to find ones being keys to a ritualistic ceremony. When a ritual is done with a Labubu, it summons Satan and Trump. The end of this episode shows a ritual which summons Trump and Satan, and Satan reveals that Trump got him pregnant. 

This newer season is South Park’s most bold and unapologetic yet. The season is not yet over, which leaves some questions, the biggest of which being: who or what will Satan give birth to?  

Abstract

Recently, a debate has sparked over the cause of autism spectrum disorder, or ASD. President Trump and United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have recently made an unproven statement that ASD is caused by acetaminophen (Tylenol)—a common painkiller. They also claim vitamin deficiencies and vaccines lead to ASD (Pearson, 2025). Kennedy, in a harmful interview, also stated “...these are kids who will never pay taxes, they’ll never hold a job, they’ll never play baseball, they’ll never write a poem, they’ll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted.” These claims have been labeled as “skewed” and wholly incorrect by medical professionals, who say that most autistic people do not face these challenges (PBS). All statements are unfounded, but still harmful. Here is a helpful guide to the most valid theoretical causes, as well as the practical implications of an autism diagnosis and symptoms associated.

Causes

There are several valid theories about the causes of autism. David Amaral, a widely respected researcher of the human psyche, completed a review of literature about the causes of autism. He cited antipsychotic medication taken by pregnant women, extreme isolation from peers or family during infancy, unusual bacteria in the gut, and high levels of pollution in the air (inhaled by a pregnant woman) as viable factors to cause autism. The thought of bacteria in the gut causing autism, or being correlated, is a more experimental theory which scientists don’t quite understand yet (Amaral, 2017). Environmental factors heavily contribute to the brain health of a child, so it is reasonable to presume they could possibly impact a child before they are born.

High Functioning Vs. Low Functioning and Associated Symptoms

It’s equally important to understand what having ASD actually means. Currently, the political environment is built to encourage panic at the thought of a child having autism. Because of this, understanding the symptoms for all stages of autism can help alleviate fear and help in obtaining accommodations. An autistic person may be more inclined to alone time, or they may be very extraverted. They may spend hours researching, or prefer activities like art and music. As an autistic person, I enjoy writing books, archery, and frequently spending time with my friends. Just like people who aren’t on the ASD spectrum, autistic people have a wide variety of interests and strengths. This variability can make it hard to pin down. According to the Golden Steps organization, 30%-70% of autistic individuals are high functioning (Golden Steps, 2024). Some people take this to mean that most autistic individuals don’t struggle, or struggle less than others. This is not the case at all, and it often leaves “high functioning” individuals without help for their symptoms. It’s important to note than the term is not used in the DSM-5, which is the official guide for diagnosing mental illnesses. According to the guide, autism is defined as these five characteristics:

• A. Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, as manifested by the following, currently or by history 

• B. Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, as manifested by at least two of the following, currently or by history 

• C. Symptoms must be present in the early developmental period (but may not become fully manifest until social demands exceed limited capacities, or may be masked by learned strategies in later life).

• D. Symptoms cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of current functioning.

• E. These disturbances are not better explained by intellectual disability (intellectual developmental disorder) or global developmental delay. Intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder frequently co-occur; to make comorbid diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability, social communication should be below that expected for general developmental level.

Conclusion

Individuals with autism struggle with social interaction a considerable amount, and they will likely face many difficulties throughout their life. However, this makes it all the more important to recognize the symptoms, do thorough research, and pay no mind to political fearmongering. No matter what the source, fact check what you hear in the news with academic articles and studies. For people on the ASD spectrum, a crucial part of the journey is being surrounded by understanding, well-informed people who care deeply about their well-being.

Works Cited

Amaral, D. G. (2017). Examining the Causes of Autism. Cerebrum: The Dana 

Forum on Brain Science, 2017, cer-01-17. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5501015/ 

Autism diagnostic criteria: DSM-5. (2022). Autism Speaks. 

https://www.autismspeaks.org/autism-diagnostic-criteria-dsm-5 

CDC. “Clinical Testing and Diagnosis for Autism Spectrum Disorder.” Autism 

Spectrum Disorder (ASD), 16 May 2024, 

www.cdc.gov/autism/hcp/diagnosis/index.html. 

Jacobson, Louis. “Fact-Checking Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'S Statements on Autism.” 

PBS News, 23 Apr. 2025, 

www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/fact-checking-robert-f-kennedy-jr-s-statements-on-autism. 

Pearson, H., & Ledford, H. (2025). Trump links autism and Tylenol: is there any 

truth to it? Nature.com. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-02876-1