The Pokémon Company released its second statement regarding the Trump administration's unauthorized use of its intellectual property after the White House published a meme inspired by the franchise's latest game
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The meme uses an image from Pokopia, Pokémon's new life-simulation game for Nintendo Switch, with the president's slogan, "Make America Great Again," overlaid
"Our mission is to bring the world together, and that mission is not affiliated with any political viewpoint or agenda," a Pokémon Company spokesperson said
The Pokémon Company again admonished PresidentDonald Trump's administration for its repeated and unauthorized use of the company's intellectual property on Thursday, after the White House published a meme on social media inspired by the franchise's latest game.
The meme, shared onXfrom the White House's official account, uses an image fromPokopia, Pokémon's new life-simulation game for Nintendo Switch, with the president's slogan, "Make America Great Again," overlaid. The post, in which some of the franchise's most recognizable characters are visible, follows a social media trend of Pokémon fans creating graphics in the style ofPokopia's logo.
"We are aware of recent social content that includes imagery associated with our brand," Sravanthi Dev, a company spokeswoman, said of the White House's post in a statement on Thursday, March 5. "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 statement marks the second time the Pokémon Company has communicated publicly that the White House was not given prior permission to use its intellectual property. The company released a similar statement in September, after the Department of Homeland Security used Pokémon's "Gotta catch 'em all" slogan and theme song in avideothat mixed clips from its animated television series with footage of Border Patrol and ICE agents arresting people.
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Responding to the company's most recent statement, White House deputy communications director Kaelan Dorr posted a screenshot of aWall Street Journalarticle from Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign headlined "Hillary Clinton's Campaign Uses Pokémon Go to Register Voters."
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"Question for you - why no response to articles like this?" Dorr wrote in a post onX. "Seems kinda like you ARE maybe affiliated with a political viewpoint, no?" Later Friday, March 6, he published amemeof a Trump-inspired Pokémon card.
Several celebrities have also rebuked the Trump administration for using their work without permission.
In October, singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins said the White House was not authorized to use his 1986 song "Danger Zone" in an AI-generated video of Trump dropping feces on a crowd of people from a jet adorned with "KING TRUMP."
After DHS usedOlivia Rodrigo's song "All-American Bitch" in a November video encouraging undocumented immigrants to self-deport, the music artist told the agency on social media, "don't ever use my songs to promote your racist, hateful propaganda."
Sabrina Carpenter, likewise,called the White House's use of her music in a pro-ICE video"evil and disgusting."
On Friday, March 6,Tropic Thunderwriter, director and starBen Stillerpubliclyrequested that the White House remove clips from the filmfrom a promotional video montage of action movies and television shows. "We never gave you permission and have no interest in being a part of your propaganda machine," Stiller wrote onX. "War is not a movie."
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