Support truly
independent journalism
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
Louise Thomas
Editor
Armando Iannucci has reacted to the parallels between Veep and the circumstances surrounding Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the US presidential race.
Biden, 81, bowed out from the 2024 US presidential race amid growing pressure and concerns surrounding his age and health.
In his statement announcing the news, Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, with the former US senator emerging as one of the frontrunners to run against Donald Trump.
Several people have since noted similarities between these real-life events and Iannucci’s political satire series Veep, in which Seinfeld’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays Selina Meyer, vice president of the United States.
Following news of Biden’s exit from the race and his subsequent endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris, a clip from Veep went viral on social media in which Selina is seen telling her shocked team that she is running for president.
“I’m not leaving. POTUS is leaving. He’s not going to run for a second term,” she says in the brief video. “I’m gonna run. I’m gonna run for president!”
While not entirely unexpected, Biden’s decision to exit the race is historically monumental. In calling off his reelection campaign, he is the first US president in 56 years to give up a chance to run again.
Many fans highlighted the similarities between Veep and real-life, with one fan writing: “Veep is a documentary” and another stating: “The accuracy of Veep is way too scary at times.”
Is it? https://t.co/TtApEVP20C
— Armando Iannucci (@Aiannucci) July 21, 2024
Responding to one person who shared the clip alongside the caption: “This show. It’s always this show,” Iannucci wrote: “Is it?”
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Replying to another who said he “continues to predict our political reality,” the TV writer wrote: “Still working on the ending.”
Former Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis also remarked on the parallels.
“Let’s remind ourselves that Veep has already written a fictional version of this script,” she wrote.
“Kamala *inherits* the actual presidency. Then runs. The electoral college is tied. The house vote is tied. Which means the Senate has to choose the tie breaking candidate. And that ends up with … JD Vance as POTUS. Nb this is DRAMA…)
Last week, Donald Trump announced the Hillbilly Elegy author and former venture capitalist JD Vance as his running mate.
Still working on the ending https://t.co/ATlGGkESLz
— Armando Iannucci (@Aiannucci) July 21, 2024
Iannucci, who also created the British political satire The Thick of It, responded to Maitlis: “Don’t forget we made all that up, though.”
Louis-Dreyfus was one of several celebrities to share their reaction to Biden dropping out of the presidential race.
Posting on Instagram, the actor wrote: “Thank you, President Biden, for your service and for your extraordinary leadership and for your love of this country and all its people.”
This is not the first time that people have taken note of similarities between Veep and real-life politics.
Last month, Iannucci compared a bizarre plotline in another one of his shows, The Thick of It, to the Conservative Party’s immigration initiative, which would have enforced a yearly limit on the number of UK visas issued.
