'South Park' targets federal takeover of D.C. police in latest episode

NEW YORK — “South Park” continued its cartoon assault on the Trump administration Wednesday, with an episode that addressed the federal takeover of Washington, D.C.’s police department.

The latest installment on Comedy Central depicted the recurring character “Towelie” — a walking, talking towel — riding in a bus past landmarks like the Supreme Court building and the Capitol as armed troops marched in the streets. A tank rolled by in front of the White House.

The half-hour episode, which primarily satirized artificial intelligence, also roasted world leaders and tech CEOs for kowtowing to President Donald Trump. Eventually, Towelie ended up with the president in the Oval Office.

“South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone recently signed a reported $1.5 billion, five-year deal with Paramount for new episodes and streaming rights to their series, which began its 27th season this summer.

Their second episode of the season depicted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem shooting puppies, a reference to a story from the former South Dakota governor’s biography where she said she killed the family dog because of its behavioral issues. Noem was also depicted being trailed by a team of beauticians having to reattach her face.

“It’s so easy to make fun of women for how they look,” Noem told Glenn Beck in response to the episode.

The season premiere mocked Trump’s body in a raunchy manner and depicted him sharing a bed with Satan. That scenario reappeared in Wednesday’s episode.

The White House has dismissed “South Park” as a fourth-rate, no-longer-relevant show. But it has been attracting attention; Comedy Central said the Noem episode had the highest audience share in the show’s history, a reference to the percentage of people with televisions on watching the cartoon.