HBO accuses Donald Trump of 'trademark misuse' after he co-opted Game of Thrones branding

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Donald Trump‘s social media team decided to try and piggyback on the success of Game of Thrones on Friday, tweeting a poster of the president styled like one for Game of Thrones.

Complete with the show’s recognisable font, it read: “SANCTIONS ARE COMING”, a play on the iconic “winter is coming” phrase from GoT.

“NOVEMBER 5” was added below it, aping a release date but referring to the day on which sanctions on Iran will come back into effect after Trump pulled out of a deal suspending them in May.

HBO was clearly less than impressed, tweeting from its official Twitter account: “How do you say trademark misuse in Dothraki?”

The Dothraki are a powerful tribe in Game of Thrones, and a violent one at that.

Trump’s tweet came as he goes on a PR offensive ahead of the crucial US mid-term elections, which will be held across America on Tuesday and decide which party controls the Senate and the House of Representatives.

HBO added in a statement to NBC: “We were not aware of this messaging and would prefer our trademark not be misappropriated for political purposes.”