President Donald Trump’s White House social media team tried to capitalize on a popular new Pokémon meme.
Tweeting from the official account on X, the White House social media team used a meme generator to place Trump’s MAGA slogan into a scene from the new “Pokémon Pokopia” game:
And neither was The Pokémon Company International, which released a statement distancing itself from the memes ― although it didn’t mention the Trump administration by name.
“We are aware of recent social content that includes imagery associated with our brand,” company spokesperson Sravanthi Dev told The New York Times. “We were not involved in its creation or distribution, and no permission was granted for the use of our intellectual property. Our mission is to bring the world together, and that mission is not affiliated with any political viewpoint or agenda.”
The company issued a similar statement last year when the Department of Homeland Security used Pokemon music and images to promote Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying it was “not involved” and did not grant permission.
Soon after the White House posted the latest meme, others used their own takes on that same image to fire back ― including the Democratic National Committee, which fired off a message reminding the public of the administration’s attempt to block the release of files related to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who was once close friends with Trump:
Other critics also joined in:
