United States President Donald Trump was the butt of jokes on social media and in the international press this Thursday (12/18) when he announced, in a video, that he would promote a major sporting event with “a young man and a young woman from every state and territory” to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States. The proposal was immediately compared to the premise of the popular Hunger Games film and book franchise.
In fiction, the authoritarian government of Panem promotes a deadly battle each year between a young man and a young woman from each of the country’s 12 districts. The story is a critique of authoritarianism, the abuse of power and the culture of spectacle.
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The relationship between Trump’s Patriotic Games and author Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games has not only been discussed by fans, but also by the international press. Buzzfeed, for example, was one of the media outlets that mocked the White House announcement. Look:
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Trump’s Hunger Games
In the video posted on social media from the White House, Trump makes a series of announcements to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States. Among them is the Patriotic Games, “an unprecedented four-day sporting event, featuring the best high school athletes, one young man and one young woman from each state and territory.”
Trump also used the opportunity to reinforce the US government’s current policy against the participation of trans athletes in sports. “I promise there will be no men playing sports (in the women’s categories). You will see anything but that,” he said.
In February, the president signed an executive order titled “Keep Men Out of Women’s Sports” in an effort to ban trans women from participating in women’s sports.
In response to Trump’s move, the United States Paralympic Olympic Committee (USOPC) changed one of its internal policies and banned trans women from competing in women’s sports in the country.
The decision was a source of controversy within the international athletics community. Remember that in 2028, Los Angeles (United States) will be the next city to host the Olympic Games.
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