Skip to main content

HBO Tells Trump to Stop Using Game of Thrones Meme for Iran Sanctions

America's King Joffrey is at it again.

By Nov 3rd, 2018, 2:37 pm

emilia clarke, kit harrington, peter dinklage

The Trump administration was looking for a way to promote the imposing of nuclear sanctions on Iran with the depth and gravity that the subject deserves. Just kidding! Instead they tried to meme-ify the Iran sanctions with a play on the popular Game of Thrones quote, “Winter is Coming.” It looked a little something like this:

Unsurprisingly, this tweet from America’s King Joffrey did not go over well, with HBO responding with the following tweet:

Following their tweet, HBO made a statement saying, “We were not aware of this messaging and would prefer our trademark not be misappropriated for political purposes.” Stars of the series also took to social media to voice their objection to Trump’s use of the catchphrase.

The administration’s move to reimpose sanctions undoes a 2015 Obama-era agreement, which lifted billions of dollars worth of sanctions in exchange for Iran’s nuclear de-escalation. Trump’s move is yet another in his continuous campaign to undo everything the Obama administration put in place. Trump had announced plans to reimpose sanctions in May.

But Iran wasn’t content to stay out of the meme war. Iranian general Ghasem Soleimany responded with a meme of his own on Instagram:

View this post on Instagram

ترامپ قمارباز؛ من حریف تو هستم #Sanctions | #iran | #🇮🇷 ‌‌ ‌‌ شما برای ما خط و نشان می‌کشید؟ ایران را نمی‌خواهد، نیروهای مسلح ایران را نمی‌خواهد؛ من حریف شما هستم؛ نیروی قدس حریف شماست. بدانید هیچ شبی نیست که ما بخوابیم و به شما فکر نکنیم. به شما می‌گویم آقای ترامپ قمارباز! بدان در آنجایی که فکر نمی‌کنی، ما در نزدیک شما هستیم. در هر کجا که تصور نمیکنید ما در کنار شما هستیم. ما ملت شهادت هستیم، ما ملت امام حسین(علیه‌السلام) هستیم. بپرس ما حوادث سختی را پشت سر گذاشتیم. بیا! ما منتظریم؛ ما مرد این میدان برای شما هستیم. شما می‌دانید این جنگ یعنی نابودی همه امکانات شما، این جنگ را شما شروع می‌کنید اما پایانش را ما ترسیم می‌کنیم. بنابراین نباید به ملت ایران اهانت بکنید، نباید به رئیس جمهور ما اهانت بکنید، باید بدانید که چه می‌گویید. از پیشینیان خودتان بپرسید. از تجربه‌ی آنها بهره ببرید. یقینا در داخل آمریکا کسانی هستند و موسسات مطالعاتی فراوانی هستند که اینها را مطالعه می‌کنند، به او گوشزد می‌کنند و به او یادآوری می‌کنند. ۹۷/۵/۴

A post shared by Ghasem Soleimany|قاسم سلیمانی (@soleimany_ir) on

Look, I enjoy Game of Thrones as much as the next nerd, but is anyone else really disturbed that the leaders of two world powers are bickering over NUCLEAR SANCTIONS with Game of Thrones memes and catchphrases? I’m starting to think that men are too emotional to be in politics. In the meantime, enjoy these meme responses:

(via Hollywood Reporter, image: HBO)

Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!

—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—

Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

Filed Under:

Follow The Mary Sue:

Chelsea Steiner - Weekend Editor

Chelsea was born and raised in New Orleans, which explains her affinity for cheesy grits and Britney Spears. She currently lives in sunny Los Angeles, with her husband, son, and one poorly behaved rescue dog. She is a former roller derby girl and a black belt in Judo, so she is not to be trifled with. She loves the word “Jewess” and wishes more people used it to describe her.