--- title: Trump Brings Game of Thrones Poster to Cabinet Meeting description: Trump has brought back the Game of Thrones-inspired meme that he originally shared on Twitter for his first cabinet meeting of 2019. canonical: https://time.com/5492898/trump-game-of-thrones-poster/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-01-03T16:20:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-13T08:18:56.784Z og:title: Trump Brought a Game of Thrones Meme to His Cabinet Meeting og:description: And everyone's making the same joke og:url: https://time.com/5492898/trump-game-of-thrones-poster/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt52cb040c1d4fe5ae/698942937cdbacb197d5ecb5/Trump-Game-of-Thrones-Poster.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Trump-Game-of-Thrones-Poster og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Brought a Game of Thrones Meme to His Cabinet Meeting twitter:description: And everyone's making the same joke twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt52cb040c1d4fe5ae/698942937cdbacb197d5ecb5/Trump-Game-of-Thrones-Poster.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump Brought a _Game of Thrones_ Meme to His First Cabinet Meeting of 2019 > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=7b429ee4-662d-4b33-987c-79a414bef863&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Trump Reiterates Call for Complete Border Wall During Cabinet Meeting Amid Shutdown [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Reiterates Call for Complete Border Wall During Cabinet Meeting Amid Shutdown](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/4hLPrDHc.m3u8) (3:01)  _Published 2019-01-02. President Donald Trump says the southern border is “like a sieve,” and he’s lamenting how U.S. authorities fired tear gas into Mexico during the first hours of the new year to repel about 150 migrants trying to breach the border fence in Tijuana._  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Jan 3, 2019 4:20 PM UTC President Donald Trump says the southern border is “like a sieve,” and he’s lamenting how U.S. authorities fired tear gas into Mexico during the first hours of the new year to repel about 150 migrants trying to breach the border fence in Tijuana.  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Jan 3, 2019 4:20 PM UTC [President Donald Trump](http://time.com/5492636/donald-trump-generals/) has brought back the [_Game of Thrones_\-inspired meme](http://time.com/5443319/trump-game-of-thrones-meme/) that he originally shared on Twitter in November for his [first Cabinet meeting of 2019](http://time.com/5492007/trump-border-wall-shutdown-cabinet-meeting/). While reiterating his call for a complete border wall between the U.S. and Mexico during a White House meeting with his Cabinet as the partial government shutdown continued into its 12th day on Wednesday, Trump displayed a poster-sized version of the meme on the table in front of him. The graphic, which was first used by Trump to announce that he was planning to reimpose sanctions against Iran that had been lifted by the Obama administration, features a photo of the president overlaid with the words, “Sanctions are coming” — a play on _Game of Thrones_‘ famed “Winter is Coming” tagline. Some _Game of Thrones_ fans, as well as [HBO itself](https://twitter.com/HBO/status/1058424663972478976), spoke out against Trump associating himself with the show back in November. However, this time around, people were quick to point out the irony of Trump referencing the series to prove that walls works. “Walls Work, Trump Says In Front Of Poster Parodying Show Based On Premise That They Don’t,” quipped one Twitter user. > [](https://twitter.com/hardin/status/1080521237611327488) See some other reactions below. > [](https://twitter.com/d%5Fheals/status/1080641373303382017) > [](https://twitter.com/OhNoSheTwitnt/status/1080549708928610305) > [](https://twitter.com/BrunoTertrais/status/1080515985659125760) > [](https://twitter.com/KurtKurtbob/status/1080644390736023552) > [](https://twitter.com/4everNeverTrump/status/1080621590390333441) > [](https://twitter.com/%5FDavidCarter%5F/status/1080571715569242112) > [](https://twitter.com/jeremytcohen/status/1080519318394220545) > [](https://twitter.com/ceg6/status/1080698519177039872) ## Transcript Every day, border patrol encounters roughly 2, 000 illegal immigrants. We have to talk about this. Trying to enter our country. 2, 000 a day, and that's a minimum. Every week, 300 Americans are killed by heroine, the vast majority of which comes across Through our southern border. Our southern border is like a sieve, it just pours through our southern border, and unless we're gonna have physical barriers, it's never gonna be able to be stopped. Too much money is being made. Last month 20, 000 minors were illegally smuggled into the United States. In the last two years, ICE officers arrested 235, 000 criminals. Who were able to come in over the years through, the United States. And we have a very tough border. I think you see that, even last night, where people charged the border, tried to get through. But they couldn't, because we have a wall up. And, but tear gas was flying and a lot of things were happening. And I guess, for the most part, you've seen it. It's very sad. If they knew they had a physical barrier. If they knew they had a wall. If they knew they had something that's going to stop them, they would have never come up in the first place. The United States needs a physical barrier. Means a wall to stop illegal immigration, and to halt deadly inflow of drugs and crime. You have human traffickers. It's a thing that's horrible. Think of it, human trafficking. They kidnap people, they steal people, and they sell people. And because of the Internet, one of the bad things that happens with the Internet One of the many bad things. But because of the internet, it's the highest it's ever been in history, and this is a world problem. This isn't a United States situation, this is a world problem. But the southern border is a very, very highly used place by people that do human trafficking. How can it get worse than that? Is the reason why politicians and wealthy people build walls around their houses and their compounds. President Obama recently build a wall around his compound there is a reason for it, and I don't blame. We are in a shutdown because Democrats refuse to fund the border security. They try and make it like its just about the wall, and it is about the wall. I said over the weekend of a number of people, the wheel, the wall, there are some things that never get old. Its never going to change. We're in the shutdown because of the fact that The Democrats are looking to 2020. They think they're not gonna win the election. I guess a lot of signs point to the fact that they're not gonna win the election. I hope they're not gonna win the election. But they view this as an election point for them. I actually think its bad politics but I'm not thinking about the politics. I'm thinking about what's right And what's wrong. 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