The first two episodes of the new season of “South Park” have everybody talking — and that includes the White House, Vice President JD Vance, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and countless MAGA supporters on social media.

In case you haven’t been keeping up with the show’s recent brutal attacks aimed at the Trump administration so far, here’s a brief recap: the premiere NSFW episode featured jokes about Trump having a small penis and making sexual advances at Satan, who discusses the “Epstein list.” The episode also took aim at the show’s corporate parent, Paramount, after the company agreed to pay Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit over a “60 Minutes” episode. (The settlement preceded the recent close of Paramount Global’s widely panned merger with Skydance, which needed regulatory approval from the Trump administration.)

The second episode showed Vance as Trump’s assistant who gets kicked by the president, and who at one point offers to apply baby oil to Satan’s anus. The show’s creators also did not hold back on its attacks on Noem; the episode hit on her dog-killing scandal and the administration’s cruel immigration policies. It also featured Noem with a face that wouldn’t stop melting.

The show’s new season undoubtedly sparked a lot of chatter online after the premiere aired on July 23. Critics of the president have praised the ruthless attacks on the Trump administration, while MAGA supporters have taken to social media to slam the show, with many users furious that former President Joe Biden didn’t receive the same venom when he was in office.

And the White House hasn’t exactly been thrilled either. In response to the premiere episode, Trump White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers told Rolling Stone that “Just like the creators of ‘South Park,’ the Left has no authentic or original content, which is why their popularity continues to hit record lows.

“This 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 statement continued.

Noem has since complained about how her appearance — not her values — was portrayed on the show, telling Glenn Beck on his podcast: “It never ends. But it’s so lazy to just constantly make fun of women for how they look. It’s always the liberals and extremists [who] do that.” (“South Park” responded by using an image of a melted-faced Noem from the second episode as the profile photo for the show’s social media accounts.)

Other targets of the show’s new season so far, like Vance and MAGA personality Charlie Kirk, responded with a different approach by trying to show they could take a joke. “Well, I’ve finally made it,” the vice president wrote in a post about the show on X.

“South Park,” created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, debuted nearly 30 years ago. It’s long been known for its dark comedy, satire and controversial content that spurs wide reactions — and this new season is no different.

David Schmid, associate professor of English at the University at Buffalo whose expertise includes popular culture and cultural studies, thinks there’s an explanation for why the current season of the long-running animated series is garnering such strong reactions from the White House and members of the Trump administration:

“Bullies hate being criticized, but they hate being made fun of even more,” he told HuffPost.

“Laughter can be a very effective form of social critique, but what ‘South Park’ does so brilliantly is to go even lower and even cruder than Trump himself!” Schmid continued. “In other words, if Trump mocks his enemies and calls them names, ‘South Park’ goes even harder in this direction, being even more immature, more crude and more insulting. That’s what’s noteworthy about what the show is doing.”

“I think these attacks are a very big deal and a significant cultural moment,” Schmid said. “I think they express and channel the anger and despair that many Americans feel right now and give people a way of venting their frustration and fear. Moreover, the creators of ‘South Park’ have been attacked by just about everyone over the years and so are unlikely to be fazed by the Trump administration’s attacks.”

Schmid said that the first two episodes of Season 27 of “South Park” are a “huge middle finger” to Paramount and the Trump administration, adding that the show’s creators are sending a clear message that they will not be silenced by corporate or political power.

And many critics of the Trump administration are celebrating this approach.

“When the first ‘South Park’ episode criticizing Trump was aired, you could almost hear people saying ‘FINALLY!’” Schmid said. “In other words, unlike the ineffective and overly polite protest and critiques of both politicians and late-night talk show hosts, here was a form of attack that was unabashedly crude, extreme, hilarious, and therefore very, very effective.”

“I think people were excited by the attacks because they allowed them to express their anger, despair, and fear at what’s happening in America,” he added.

But Schmid emphasized that, generally speaking, it’s “notoriously difficult to measure” how TV and film may potentially influence public opinion. And when it comes to “South Park,” he doesn’t think it’s necessarily going to change anyone’s opinions about the Trump administration.

“If you’re MAGA, you’re going to hate the show and if you hate Trump, you’re going to love it,” he said.

But could “South Park” potentially help play a role in energizing and improving the morale of Trump’s critics? Schmid thinks it’s possible.

“To see a president who appears to exercise power in such an unrestrained and authoritarian manner being brutally mocked and criticized will make his critics feel less isolated, less despairing, and more energized and hopeful,” he said. “That’s potentially very significant.”

President Donald Trump’s unapologetic, yet unsurprising, decision to disregard Juneteenth this year did not go unnoticed.

In the past week, the president issued proclamations honoring days such as Father’s Day and Flag Day and National Flag Week, but he stopped short of recognizing — in any capacity — the newest federal holiday, Juneteenth, which celebrates the ending of chattel slavery in America. His decision not to issue a proclamation, or even an official statement about the important date, is quite the reversal from previous statements he’s made about Juneteenth.

Trump issued statements commemorating Juneteenth each year during his first term as president. In 2020, he campaigned to make it a federal holiday, even claiming at the time that he made the day “very famous” — despite the fact that Black Americans have been celebrating Juneteenth for generations, and that the day has been recognized by states across the U.S. for decades. Congress passed bipartisan legislation in 2021 to establish Juneteenth as a federal holiday, and it was enshrined into law by former President Joe Biden.

Instead of honoring Juneteenth this year, Trump opted to complain on social media that Americans have “too many non-working holidays.”

Deepak Sarma, inaugural distinguished scholar in the public humanities at Case Western Reserve University, told HuffPost that Trump’s reversal on Juneteenth this year shows that his political strategies embrace “cruelty,” and that he employed a “bait-and-switch” in an attempt to woo Black supporters.

Trump is “appealing only to his MAGA constituents, many of whom were covert, and now are overt, racists,” and he has discarded the concerns of his Black supporters, Sarma said. (Trump made inroads with Black voters in the 2024 presidential election, but Black voters still overwhelmingly voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris.)

“This is consistent with his Machiavellian political philosophy, which embraces deception, cruelty and immorality to achieving his selfish goals,” Sarma said about the president. ”[Rejecting] DEI, embracing pro-life, utilizing ICE, are all ways to cater to MAGA voters.”

And Sarma thinks that this proves it’s “only a matter of time before he discards MAGA supporters and their concerns.” They said Trump is already doing this with his policies on issues like Medicaid and Social Security. Trump’s so-called “big, beautiful bill” would leave about 10.9 million more people without health insurance, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Sarma said some MAGA supporters are beginning to recognize that these policies are “not in their favor.”

On June 19, 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to inform Black enslaved people of their freedom after the end of the Civil War. The Emancipation Proclamation had been signed two years prior in 1863, but in reality, the horrific system of slavery continued in the deep parts of the Confederacy. June 19 has been commemorated to recognize when more than 250,000 enslaved people were informed of their freedom (though slavery did not immediately end everywhere on that date.)

For years, Juneteenth has been celebrated across the U.S. with parades, cookouts and various gatherings. Trump’s decision not to honor Juneteenth this year fits with his ongoing crusade in his second term against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and what he views as “critical race theory.”

The Black History Month proclamation he issued earlier this year was noticeably sanitized with no mention of the legacy of slavery or America’s history of racial inequities and discrimination against Black people.

Portia Allen-Kyle, a civil rights attorney and interim executive director at the racial justice organization Color Of Change, emphasized in a previous interview with HuffPost that the erasure of Black people’s experiences in U.S. history is incredibly dangerous.

“History isn’t just what happened — it’s often a guiding light to what we’re witnessing in the present and how we can use those learnings to build a future that doesn’t repeat the same mistakes,” she said.

Sarma believes many Trump and MAGA supporters are hoping to rewrite American history and “deny the enslavement of African people, and to reinstate white supremacy.”

“Recognizing Juneteenth is a critical reminder of the depravity and cruelty of some human behavior and a distressing, but necessary, deterrent,” they added.

Shaun Harper, a professor of education, business and public policy at the University of Southern California, said that he was “not at all surprised” by Trump’s decision to disregard Juneteenth this year and that “few Black Americans are interested in obligatory Juneteenth, Martin Luther King Day, and Black History Month greetings from a president who has an unacceptably low number of Black people in his cabinet.”

“Trump has signed executive orders that severely limit the teaching of Black topics in schools, fired thousands of innocent Black federal workers, and eliminated policies and programs that ensure the equitable advancement of Black professionals across industries,” Harper continued. “Frankly, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had issued an executive order yesterday canceling Juneteenth, especially since it became a federal holiday during Joe Biden’s presidency.”

Sarma said that fighting back against the Trump administration’s anti-DEI crusade is “becoming increasingly harder.”

“First Amendment rights are reducing rapidly,” they said. “Trump and his minions have suggested that speaking up against the government is a crime and should be quelled.”

“In case it becomes impossible to do so, communities can and should always continue to preserve their histories, books about their histories, digital data and so on,” they continued. “Ray Bradbury offers a suggestion in ‘Fahrenheit 451’ that we ought to consider today, namely, to memorizing books and knowledge. It may soon become the only way to preserve history, to preserve heritage, and to prevent atrocities.”