SAN DIEGO (AP) — “South Park” co-creator Trey Parker had the briefest of responses Thursday to anger from the White House over the season premiere of the animated institution, which showed a naked President Donald Trump in bed with Satan.
“We're terribly sorry,” Parker said, followed by a long, deadpan-comic stare.
Click to Gallery
President Donald Trump visits the Federal Reserve, Thursday, July 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Matt Stone, left, and Trey Parker attend the Comedy Central Adult Animation: "South Park," "Beavis & Butt-Head," and "Digman!" panel during Comic-Con International on Thursday, July 24, 2025, in San Diego. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Matt Stone, left, and Trey Parker attend the Comedy Central Adult Animation: "South Park," "Beavis & Butt-Head," and "Digman!" panel during Comic-Con International on Thursday, July 24, 2025, in San Diego. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Trey Parker attends the Comedy Central Adult Animation: "South Park," "Beavis & Butt-Head," and "Digman!" panel for during Comic-Con International on Thursday, July 24, 2025, in San Diego. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
President Donald Trump visits the Federal Reserve, Thursday, July 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Parker was asked for his reaction to the fracas as he sat on the stage at San Diego's Comic-Con International at the beginning of a Comedy Central animation panel that also included his “South Park” partner Matt Stone, “Beavis and Butt-Head” creator Mike Judge, and actor Andy Samberg, who co-created the animated “Digman!”
Earlier in the day, the White House issued a statement on the 27th season premiere, which aired Wednesday night.
“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,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in the statement. “President Trump has delivered on more promises in just six months than any other president in our country’s history – and no fourth-rate show can derail President Trump’s hot streak.”
Later in the panel, Parker said they did get a note from their producers on Tuesday night's episode.
“They said, ‘OK, but we’re gonna blur the penis,’ and I said, ‘No you’re not gonna blur the penis,’” Parker said.
The premiere also took aim at Paramount and its $16 million recent settlement with Trump just hours after Parker and Stone signed a five-year deal with the company for 50 new episodes and streaming rights to previous seasons. The Los Angeles Times and other outlets report the deal was worth $1.5 billion.
In the episode, Trump sues the town of South Park when its residents challenge the presence of Jesus Christ – the actual person – in its elementary school.
Jesus tells them they ought to settle.
“You guys saw what happened to CBS? Yeah, well, guess who owns CBS? Paramount,” Jesus says. “Do you really want to end up like Colbert?”
CBS and parent Paramount Global canceled Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” last week, days after Colbert sharply criticized Paramount's settlement of Trump’s lawsuit over a “60 Minutes” interview.
CBS and Paramount executives said it was a financial decision to axe “The Late Show.”
The efficiency of “South Park” production, and the brinksmanship of its creators, allow it to stay incredibly current for an animated series.
“I don’t know what next week’s episode is going to be,” Parker said at Comic-Con. “Even just three days ago, we were like, ‘I don’t know if people are going to like this.’”
President Donald Trump visits the Federal Reserve, Thursday, July 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Matt Stone, left, and Trey Parker attend the Comedy Central Adult Animation: "South Park," "Beavis & Butt-Head," and "Digman!" panel during Comic-Con International on Thursday, July 24, 2025, in San Diego. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Matt Stone, left, and Trey Parker attend the Comedy Central Adult Animation: "South Park," "Beavis & Butt-Head," and "Digman!" panel during Comic-Con International on Thursday, July 24, 2025, in San Diego. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Trey Parker attends the Comedy Central Adult Animation: "South Park," "Beavis & Butt-Head," and "Digman!" panel for during Comic-Con International on Thursday, July 24, 2025, in San Diego. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
President Donald Trump visits the Federal Reserve, Thursday, July 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke an 1807 law and deploy troops to quell persistent protests against the federal officers sent to Minneapolis to enforce his administration's massive immigration crackdown.
The threat comes a day after a man was shot and wounded by an immigration officer who had been attacked with a shovel and broom handle. That shooting further heightened the fear and anger that has radiated across the city since an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good in the head.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a rarely used federal law, to deploy the U.S. military or federalize the National Guard for domestic law enforcement, over the objections of state governors.
“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump said in social media post.
Presidents have invoked the law more than two dozen times, most recently in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush to end unrest in Los Angeles. In that instance, local authorities had asked for the assistance.
Trump has repeatedly toyed with the idea of invoking the Insurrection Act, starting in his first term, but hasn't followed through. In 2020, for example, he threatened to use the act to quell protests after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police.
“I’m making a direct appeal to the President: Let’s turn the temperature down. Stop this campaign of retribution. This is not who we are,” Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, said on X.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said he would challenge any such action in court. He's already suing to try to stop the surge by the Department of Homeland Security, which says officers have arrested more than 2,500 people since Nov. 29 as part of an immigration operation in the Twin Cities called Metro Surge.
The operation grew when ICE sent 2,000 officers and agents to the area early in January. ICE is a DHS agency.
In Minneapolis, smoke filled the streets Wednesday night near the site of the latest shooting as federal officers wearing gas masks and helmets fired tear gas into a small crowd. Protesters responded by throwing rocks and shooting fireworks.
Demonstrations have become common in Minneapolis since Good was fatally shot on Jan. 7. Agents who have yanked people from their cars and homes have been confronted by angry bystanders demanding they leave.
“This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in and at the same time we are trying to find a way forward to keep people safe,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of three people who said they were questioned or detained in recent days. The lawsuit says two are Somali and one is Hispanic; all three are U.S. citizens. The lawsuit seeks an end to what the ACLU describes as a practice of racial profiling and warrantless arrests. The government did not immediately comment.
Similar lawsuits have been filed in Los Angeles and Chicago and despite seeing initial success, have tended to fizzle in the face of appeal. In Chicago, for example, last year a judge ordered a senior U.S. Border Patrol official to brief her nightly following a lawsuit by news outlets and protesters who said agents used too much force during demonstrations. But three days later, an appeals court stopped the updates.
Homeland Security said in a statement that federal law enforcement officers on Wednesday stopped a driver from Venezuela who is in the U.S. illegally. The person drove off then crashed into a parked car before fleeing on foot, DHS said.
Officers caught up, then two other people arrived and the three started attacking the officer, according to DHS.
“Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life,” DHS said. The confrontation took place about 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) from where Good was killed.
Police chief Brian O’Hara said the man who was shot did not have a life-threatening injury. O’Hara's account of what happened largely echoed that of Homeland Security, which later said the other two men were also in the U.S. illegally from Venezuela.
The FBI said several government vehicles were damaged and property inside was stolen when agents responded to the shooting. Photos show broken windows and insults made with paint. A reward of up to $100,000 is being offered for information. The FBI’s Minneapolis office did not immediately reply to messages seeking more details.
St. Paul Public Schools, with more than 30,000 students, said it would begin offering an online learning option for students who do not feel comfortable coming to school. Schools will be closed next week until Thursday to prepare for those accommodations.
Minneapolis Public Schools, which has a similar enrollment, is also offering temporary remote learning. The University of Minnesota will start a new term next week with different options depending on the class.
Madhani reported from Washington, D.C. and Golden reported from Seattle. Associated Press reporters Sophia Tareen in Chicago; Bill Barrow in Atlanta; Rebecca Santana in Washington; and Ed White in Detroit contributed.
Federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Law enforcement officers at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A woman covers her face from tear gas as federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A protester throws back a tear gas canister during a protest after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez, second from left, blows a whistle with other activists to warn people of federal immigration officers Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Tear gas surrounds federal law enforcement officers as they leave a scene after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A child and family are escorted away after federal law enforcement deployed tear gas in a neighborhood during protests on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A protester holds an umbrella as sparks fly from a flash bang deployed by law enforcement on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Monica Travis shares an embrace while visiting a makeshift memorial for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A protester yells in front of law enforcement after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Tear gas surrounds federal law enforcement officers as they leave a scene after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Protesters shout at law enforcement officers after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Law enforcement officers stand amid tear gas at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
