WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Season 1 of Space Force, now available on Netflix.
Netflix's Space Force doesn't pull any punches on how much it thinks the current U.S. administration is a joke. While it doesn't namedrop president Donald Trump, it refers to the POTUS on a consistent basis and gives him some of the leader's traits. It goes deeper than just one man, though, as Space Force's 10 episodes wade into American politics on science, healthcare, war and basic social justice. With that said, let's look at how funny, scary and real Space Force gets with all its jabs.
Firstly, we have to point out the POTUS, as General Naird (Steve Carell) has to continually reassure his science team in Colorado that the man in charge isn't insane. They poke fun at all his rants on Twitter, not to mention how he provokes world powers into possible war. Even his war council is shady, as they're all eager for confrontation, believing "a bomb always does the trick," and that everything against them is "fake news." It's perfectly summed up by a typo that says "boobs on the moon," instead of "boots," jabbing at Trump's bad spelling online regarding Space Force's agenda.
There's also Tony Scarapiducci, a social media manager who tries to make edgy and controversial tweets. He's riffing off of Anthony Scaramucci, former White House communications director. Naird keeps asking him how qualified he is and even fires him, though he brings him back within hours. We even have AYC/Anabela Ysidro-Campos (Ginger Gonzaga), a feisty Latinx political representative who is a clear parody of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Her accent, hand gestures and attitude are uncanny, to the point the men in Congress hate her, always calling her angry. It doesn't help they're misogynistic or flat-Earthers, which she keeps shredding in the public eye.
There's also Congresswoman Pitosi, a parody of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who backs AYC as they provide feminist firepower to POTUS' cronies. They're always questioning budgets on war, why healthcare and college debt is still a burden on the public, and also, why POTUS' people hate science. This is a problem Space Force suffers a lot as Naird himself admits he can't stand stats on diets, crime and in general. His time with the Air Force made it clear science doesn't help out wars or pandemics -- again, a shot at the initial downplaying of the coronavirus by Trump's cabinet.
It's also telling when Tony insists FLOTUS designs Space Force uniforms, digging at Melania Trump's fashion sense, which turns out to be a mix of Star Trek and a high-school marching band. Brad (Don Lake), Naird's secretary, keeps chiding Tony and making it clear FLOTUS is just a prisoner of her husband and shouldn't be involved in what they're doing, which is another jab haters take at the Trump marriage in real-life. Gun control even gets airtime as POTUS has guns sent into the vacuum of space by a Manchester company for a shootout and salute, as he believes Americans and guns go hand-in-hand. This encourages him to establish a base on the moon before China and India as he hates America not being smarter, first or greater than these countries. And yes, POTUS' people don't like minorities at all, even those employed at Naird's facility.
The Russian issue gets play as well, as spies are working right under Space Force's nose to extract data, but POTUS' cronies don't make much of the drama, aka shots taken at the last US elections. They believe the Russians are their friends, naturally. Last but not least, Chan (Jimmy Yang) and Tony name a star after the president for his birthday, only for Chan to admit it's a gas mass that'll collapse on itself. It fools POTUS, but they get lauded, as they understand he's a an unstable person who they need to play to climb the corporate ladder.
Created by Greg Daniel and Steve Carell, Space Force stars Carell, John Malkovich, Ben Schwartz, Diana Silvers and Tawny Newsome. Season 1 is currently available on Netflix.