In a bizarre mix of politics and gaming culture, the Trump administration’s social media team spent Sunday evening exchanging Halo memes with GameStop. It began when the White House’s official X account posted an AI-generated image of President Donald Trump dressed as Halo’s main character, Master Chief, standing before the White House and an altered American flag missing ten stars. The image was captioned “Power to the Players,” seemingly a nod to GameStop’s slogan. Gamers were quick to roast the post, calling it “AI slop” and accusing the White House of missing the point of the game entirely. Master Chief, the protagonist of Halo, is a genetically enhanced supersoldier who protects humanity from alien threats. Others mocked the attempt to appeal to gamers, saying it “completely misses the point of Halo.” The meme was actually a response to GameStop’s earlier viral post announcing the “official cessation of console wars,” after Microsoft confirmed a surprise remake of Halo: Combat Evolved would also arrive on Sony’s PlayStation 5 in 2026. GameStop styled its post as a diplomatic statement urging “console loyalists” to “cease hostilities, disband militias, and enjoy this new era of gaming.” Not long after, the White House joined in, and GameStop fired back. The retailer posted its own image showing Trump as Master Chief and Vice President JD Vance as Cortana, the game’s AI companion. The image appeared to be edited from Trump’s mug shot and a meme of Vance with a bloated face, which made the exchange viral. “President Trump presides over the end of the 20-year Console Wars,” the White House joked in one reply. GameStop later added an image of Trump shaking hands with Master Chief. GameStop’s stock briefly surged 7.7 per cent on Monday before dipping again, prompting comparisons to the 2021 meme stock craze. The company denied coordinating with the Trump administration, though CEO Ryan Cohen, a known Trump supporter, re-posted the Halo memes on his own account. The online banter reignited debate over how the Trump administration uses pop culture to promote its agenda. Recently, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was criticised for using the Pokémon theme in a border enforcement video. Video game analyst Daniel Ahmad also weighed in, saying Trump’s Halo meme was “tone-deaf,” especially given that Trump’s tariffs have been blamed for console price hikes across the industry.
