The Pokémon Company has responded to Donald Trump’s White House sharing a “Make America Great Again” Pokopia meme on social media.
Pokémon Pokopia launched yesterday (March 5). The cutesy life simulation game is the best-reviewed Pokémon game of all time, with gamers using the colourful front cover to create memes that have gone viral across social media.
The official White House X account got involved too, sharing a reworked take on the Pokopia cover with Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
MAGA 🇺🇸⚡️ pic.twitter.com/8QRVP23zGu
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 5, 2026
However, The Pokémon Company wasn’t impressed. “We are aware of recent social content that includes imagery associated with our brand,” spokesperson Sravanthi Dev said in a statement (via 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.”
Last year, The Pokémon Company took issue with the White House sharing a viral video of Immigration And Customs Enforcement officers (ICE) arresting people, set to the anime’s ‘Gotta Catch ‘Em All’ theme song.
Despite the backlash, The White House has said it’s not going to stop using gaming memes. “Through engaging posts and banger memes, we are successfully communicating the president’s extremely popular agenda,” explained spokesperson Abigail Jackson. “There’s a reason so many people try to copy our style — our message resonates.”
“We will reach people where they are with content they can relate to and understand, whether that be Halo, Pokémon, The Lord Of The Rings or any other medium.”
Yesterday, The White House was criticised for a “terrifying” video that used footage of the ongoing Iran conflict alongside Call Of Duty clips. “Treating this war like a video game just days after a U.S. strike likely killed more than 100 school girls takes a special kind of callousness,” wrote journalist Richard Hall. The White House’s X account responded to the backlash with their ‘Justice The American Way’ video which features clips from Iron Man, Gladiator, Braveheart, Top Gun and more.
In other news, Ghost Of Yotei and other PlayStation exclusives won’t be released on PC, claims a new report from people “familiar” with Sony’s plans.