Donald Trump just ruined Game of Thrones.
No, the President didn’t reveal any final season spoilers, although we’re pretty sure he wouldn’t hesitate to do so if it somehow meant Republicans would keep the House on Tuesday.
But he did go ahead and use the show’s iconic tagline on Twitter today, making sure no one can ever think of it again without also thinking of our racist Commander-in-Chief.
Here’s what we’re talking about:
Game of Thrones arrived on the television scene in the summer of 2011 by warning its viewers that “Winter is Coming.”
This was a nod to the dangerous White Walkers and how they would eventually breach The Wall and kill pretty much every human alive.
(Don’t ask. Just Google or, better yet, go catch up Game of Thrones before it returns in mid-2019 at some point. The show is really good.)
No three words are more associated with the most popular show of its era than these three. Winter is Coming.
So… what did Trump just write on Twitter? In the legendary font of the iconic HBO drama?
Sanctions are Coming.
Most folks clued in to the political arena think this is a reference to sanctions against Iraq.
And while many experts on the topic seem to believe this is a terrible idea, we’re not here to get into a complicated political debate.
(Except to say that maybe the President of the United States should not treat such a significant idea/step as a game or a joke.)
We are here, however, to simply say:
Come on, Mr. President!
To paraphrase critics of athletes who bring up social issues, can’t you stick to politics?
HBO agrees with this assessment.
The network has issued a brief statement in response to Trump’s use of its show’s tagline and font. It reads:
We were not aware of this messaging and would prefer our trademark not be misappropriated for political purposes.
It has also Tweeted, hilariously, “How do you say trademark misuse in Dothraki?”
And star Maisie Williams, who plays wildly popular character Arya, also expressed her disdain on social media:
Game of Thrones Season 8 will be comprised of just six episodes.
However, each will be movie-length, around 90 minutes if not more, many sources have confirmed.
But that isn’t the point right now.
The point is that Trump has already made it difficult to enjoy professional football and Twitter and ensured that we’ll never refer to our soccer game carpools as “caravans” ever again.
Did he really need to go ahead and link himself to Game of Thrones as well?
