Game of Thrones, HBO unhappy with President Trump political messaging
Earlier today, the President posted a meme-like image to his Twitter account (see below), presumably in reference to upcoming sanctions against Iran. The message here of “sanctions are coming” appears to be a clear reference to Game of Thrones‘ classic “winter is coming” tagline that has been a part of the show for many years. The font here is largely the same, which makes things all the more obvious.
As many of you out there know, CarterMatt is not a political site and with that, we’re not going to get into any commentary about the timing of this announcement or anything else; yet, it is worth making it clear that HBO is rather unhappy with this particular post. In a statement (via TVLine), the network had the following to say on the subject:
“We were not aware of this messaging and would prefer our trademark not be misappropriated for political purposes.”
Could this escalate to the point of legal action? Potentially, but at this point it almost doesn’t matter. The image is already out there, and this is a situation where it’s going to be hard to get the metaphorical genie back in the bottle. It’s already had what may very well be its intended effect: To stir up reactions. Also, HBO’s response feels somewhat similar to a musical artist who learns that their song has been used for political rallies — it’s something that they try to keep from happening, but after it has it’s rather hard to get back into the time machine. The event has already taken place.
Recent – Be sure to get some other news regarding the final season of Game of Thrones right now!
Game of Thrones will return to the air with new episodes in the first half of 2019; meanwhile, the midterm elections are on Tuesday. Regardless of who you support, we hope you go out and vote! That’s the only way to really bring about any desired result. (Photo: HBO.)