HBO Issues Statement Over Donald Trump Using ‘Game of Thrones’ Intellectual Property

President Donald Trump had a pretty surprising, Game of Thrones-themed reaction to the release of the Mueller report, and it looks like HBO is firing back about it. The premium cable network recently released a new statement (via Variety), responding to a tweet which used Thrones‘ logo font and general imagery.

“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.

On Thursday, Trump tweeted out a picture of himself in front of a foggy background, with Thrones-style text proclaiming “No collusion. No obstruction. For the haters and the radical left Democrats – Game over.”

This image actually isn’t the first time that Trump has stolen Game of Thrones‘ imagery on social media, with a previous tweet from the President using the font to proclaim that “sanctions are coming”, similar to Ned Stark’s iconic “winter is coming” catchphrase. Even after receiving backlash from HBO and even some of the series’ stars, Trump continued to use the poster, even printing out a real-life version of it at a meeting in January.

There is a weird irony to President Trump’s fascination with Game of Thrones imagery, considering how outspoken the series’ original author, George R.R. Martin, has been about his election.

“There are really no words for how I feel this morning.” Martin wrote on his blog shortly after the 2016 election. “America has spoken. I really thought we were better than this. Guess not. Trump was the least qualified candidate ever nominated by a major party for the presidency. Come January, he will become the worst president in American history, and a dangerously unstable player on the world stage. And the decimated Democrats, a minority in both House and Senate, do not have the power to hinder him. Over the next four years, our problems are going to get much, much worse. Winter is coming. I told you so.”

What do you think of HBO’s response to President Trump’s Game of Thrones-themed tweet? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Game of Thrones‘ final season airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.