On Wednesday afternoon, President Donald Trump held a meeting with his Cabinet to discuss the government shutdown that he arguably helped orchestrate, among other topics at hand. Displayed prominently on the table was a poster with an image of himself with the words “SANCTIONS ARE COMING” in the Game of Thrones font, with the date November 4 — an obvious parody of the show’s tagline, “Winter is Coming.”
According to some reporters on the scene, no one was exactly sure why the poster was there.
https://twitter.com/kathrynw5/status/1080516318393221121
https://twitter.com/kathrynw5/status/1080632140050690048
As some may recall, this is the same image that Trump personally tweeted out back in early November to announce that he was planning to reimpose sanctions against Iran that had been lifted as part of an Obama-era nuclear agreement.
At the time, fans and stars of the show lashed out on Twitter to express their disgust, and HBO likewise issued a statement saying in no uncertain terms that they were “not aware of this messaging and would prefer our trademark not be misappropriated for political purposes.”
This time around we’re seeing the image however, it was oddly juxtaposed next to Trump as he crowed the rhetoric “walls work,” over his hotly contended border wall that’s the entire crux of the shutdown.
Except … As Game of Thrones has literally proven, that is not always the case. In the season 7 finale, the Night King, with the help of the zombified dragon Viserion, collapses a section of the wall at Eastwatch which allows his Army of the Dead to march south.
With the irony too rich to bear, people were quick to point out this fact on Twitter:
So Trump says "Walls work" in front of a Game of Thrones- inspired poster that represents himself.
2019 is already too long. https://t.co/EpiQRykXZC
— Bruno Tertrais (@BrunoTertrais) January 2, 2019
Trump saying “walls work” with his dumbass Game of Thrones meme poster displayed on the table in front of him is a masterclass in irony.
— DEV (@d_heals) January 3, 2019
Walls Work, Trump Says In Front Of Poster Parodying Show Based On Premise That They Don't https://t.co/W0Lks9oafz
— Brandon Hardin (@hardin) January 2, 2019
https://twitter.com/medsteele74/status/1080602032040341504
WITH A GAME OF THRONES POSTER ON THE TABLE, HE SAYS WALLS WORK. WINTER IS COMING BECAUSE WALLS DONT WORK. https://t.co/i2iJJZ17tb
— @DavidCarter on Venmo (@_DavidCarter_) January 2, 2019
https://twitter.com/jeremytcohen/status/1080519318394220545
https://twitter.com/joshc/status/1080741627709120513
while prominently displaying game of thrones style poster to make point that walls work when if he watched game of thrones …
— doreen anderson (@batlaw55) January 3, 2019
I take it he's never seen how well walls work in Game of Thrones.
— CeeCee (@ceg6) January 3, 2019
The President printing a meme of himself in a show all about walls failing and bringing it to his own cabinet meeting is amazing.
He literally said "Walls work" in front of the poster. Donald Trump is just Andy Kaufman in character as Tony Clifton. pic.twitter.com/VFXesLaJdz
— will muldoon (@WillMuldoon) January 2, 2019
Just wait til he finds out who Jon Snow’s real mother is.