President Trump kicked 2019 off in bizarre style, bringing an oversize Game of Thrones-inspired meme poster to his first cabinet meeting. The poster’s appearance has journalists, pundits, and the twitterati confused.
The intersection between memes and reality is alive and well in 2019. Facing the press at his first cabinet meeting of the year, President Trump displayed an oversized poster of himself along with the text “Sanctions Are Coming” on the table in the Roosevelt Room.
Trump first shared the image – inspired by HBO’s Game of Thrones and its tagline “Winter is Coming” last November – as his administration reimposed harsh economic sanctions on Iran. Featuring a stern and somber image of himself, Trump’s effort at ‘foreign policy through sh*tposting’ was excoriated by the media at the time.
The poster remained an elephant in the room during Wednesday’s cabinet meeting, however, as the president spoke at length about his efforts to withdraw troops from Syria, make peace with North Korea, and build a wall along the Mexican border. He also touched on criticism from Utah Senator Mitt Romney and his unpopularity in Europe, but at no point addressed the poster or spoke about sanctions.
Journalists, pundits, and commentators were left to decipher the cryptic message. Was the poster an attempt at foreshadowing, or some grade-A trolling from the commander-in-chief?
The Russiagaters and #Resistance members were quick to describe the poster’s appearance as yet another national crisis. “Will it hang in his cell?” one pondered.
With much of Game of Thrones’ action taking place at a gigantic ice wall along the northern border of the Seven Kingdoms, some commentators figured it was surely a reference to Trump’s obsession with building a wall along the US’ southern border with Mexico. They were also keen to point out that in the fictional show, the wall didn’t actually keep the dreaded White Walkers out.
Others showed respect for Trump’s tireless dedication to the art of the sh*tpost.
HBO, however, was likely not amused. When Trump first tweeted the meme back in November, the network replied “how do you say trademark misuse in Dothraki?” – the show’s fictional language.
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