HBO to Trump: Stop making 'Game of Thrones'-style tweets
President Donald Trump on Thursday used imagery inspired by HBO's "Game of Thrones" to sell his political messages without the network's permission — again.
And once again, HBO wants him to cut it out.
Trump evoked the epic fantasy television phenomenon, which kicked off its eighth and final season last Sunday, in a tweet celebrating the outcome of special counsel Robert Mueller's probe of Russian election meddling and possible Trump-campaign collusion in 2016.
In a more than 400-page report, Mueller's team said it did not find evidence that the Trump campaign coordinated with the Kremlin. Attorney General William Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein further determined that Mueller's findings did not warrant an obstruction of justice offense.
As part of his victory lap Thursday morning, Trump tweeted an image using a font style that closely matches the title cards and credits used in HBO's show.
"NO COLLUSION. NO OBSTRUCTION," the text of the image reads. "FOR THE HATERS AND THE RADICAL LEFT DEMOCRATS — GAME OVER."
HBO, a unit of AT&T, said in a statement that it doesn't want Trump using the show, which clocked a record-high 17.4 million viewers during its season premiere, to suit his political agenda.
"Though we can understand the enthusiasm for Game of Thrones now that the final season has arrived, we still prefer our intellectual property not be used for political purposes," an HBO spokesman said in a statement to CNBC.
Trump has aped the style and slogans of "Game of Thrones" before. He has shared at least two other photos in the past six months that borrow from the slogans and font style of the television series.
In November, Trump promoted his administration's promised sanctions against Iran by tweeting "SANCTIONS ARE COMING NOVEMBER 5" — a clear reference to the phrase "Winter is coming" popularized by the show.
"We were not aware of this messaging and would prefer our trademark not be misappropriated for political purposes," HBO told CNBC at the time. The network's official Twitter account later suggested Trump misused its trademark.
In January, Trump's Instagram account posted a similar photo — this one apparently meant to promote Trump's long-held campaign promise to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding HBO's statement.
WATCH: What it costs to eat like The Mountain will shock you
Read More
About Live World News
No comments