After President Donald Trump tweeted a “Game of Thrones”-inspired meme on Friday in announcing the return of U.S. sanctions against Iran, many gobsmacked mainstream media members could not contain their bias.

Trump tweeted out a dramatic meme of himself emblazoned with the words, “Sanctions are coming November 5.”

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That’s an obvious reference to the hit HBO show’s iconic tagline, “Winter is coming.”

He gave no further explanation.

The White House’s official Twitter account retweeted Trump’s meme — and noted, “President @realDonaldTrump is reimposing all sanctions lifted under the unacceptable Iran deal. The U.S. is reimposing the toughest sanctions ever on Iran, targeting many of the corrupt regime’s critical sectors.”

“The United States has launched a campaign of economic pressure to deny the regime the funds it needs to advance its bloody agenda!” the White House added.

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The U.S. lifted sanctions on Iran during former President Barack Obama’s presidency following the controversial Iran nuclear deal reached in 2015.

Trump announced in May that the U.S. would be withdrawing from the deal altogether.

The White House noted in a statement that the sanctions “will target critical sectors of Iran’s economy, such as its energy, shipping, shipbuilding, and financial sectors.”

“Together with the unprecedented sanctions actions taken by the Trump administration, this will be the toughest sanctions regime ever imposed on Iran,” the White House’s statement read.

But HBO told The Hollywood Reporter that “we were not aware of this messaging and would prefer our trademark not be misappropriated for political purposes.”

“Together with the unprecedented sanctions actions taken by the Trump administration, this will be the toughest sanctions regime ever imposed on Iran,” the White House’s statement read.

And it didn’t take long for mainstream media members to mock Trump for his pop culture savviness in tweeting out the “Game of Thrones”-inspired meme.

Some also compared him to the popular show’s most iconic villains.

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“There is literally a character called ‘the mad king’ but ok,” BuzzFeed’s David Mack tweeted, referring to the cruel Aerys II Targaryen, who infamously wanted to burn his subjects alive.

CNBC’s Christina Wilkie tweeted, “It appears the governing of the United States has changed from a reality TV show into a fantasy TV show.”

CNN national security and legal analyst Susan Hennessey tweeted, “The most powerful nation on Earth is now reduced to conducting nation state deterrence through internet memes.”

“It’d be funny if it wasn’t so scary and pathetic,” she added.

CNN correspondent Dianne Gallagher wrote, “I had to check three times to make sure this was real & really tweeted from the president’s verified account.”

The Atlantic’s Alan Serwer reminded Twitter that “Game of Thrones” author George R. R. Martin has compared Trump to one of the show’s most sadistic villains, Joffrey Baratheon.

The Huffington Post’s Matt Fuller wrote, “Trump’s treatment of economic sanctions like they’re an episode of ‘Game of Thrones’ is pretty revealing. This is all a game for him.”

Dean Obeidallah, a columnist for The Daily Beast, used the meme as an opportunity to mock Trump voters, writing, “Trump’s followers don’t watch Game of Thrones. These are people who get confused by the storylines in ‘Duck Dynasty.'”

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