FLASHBACK: That Time Sesame Street Absolutely Skewered Donald Trump

It was 2005, a year after the The Apprentice debuted on NBC and became an instant hit. Donald Trump was at the top of the collective cultural consciousness, and his signature show-closing line — “You’re Fired!” — became an iconic American catchphrase.

That September, a new character visited Sesame Street.

His name? Donald Grump.

Credit to New York Times Magazine deputy editor Jessica Lustig for sharing this incredible footage on Twitter today

In the video above, you can see an 11-minute Trump parody which made no effort whatsoever to mask the identity of its subject and the writers’ contempt for him.

Donald Grump, an orange-haired muppet, wasn’t very nice to the denizens of Sesame Street.

“I’m Donald Grump,” the muppet said in a gruff voice “And I have more trash than all of you, so nah-nah-nah nah-nah.”

The premise of the bit was a “Grouch Apprentice” competition. Among those vying for the job, a character called “Omagrossa.”

Grump went on to fire Elmo, who got his revenge by pulling Grump’s wig off his head.

“Go ‘head. Take it,” Grump said, while putting another wig on. “I have more.”

Check out the complete sequence above, via PBS.

[image via screengrab]

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