“DID HE JUST ANNOUNCE THE HUNGER GAMES?”: Trump patriot games announcement triggers dystopian franchise comparison

President Donald Trump has prompted Hunger Games comparisons by netizens after he announced the ‘Patriot Games’ as a part of America’s 250 birthday celebrations next year. Netizens have hilarious reactions to the announcement, and have been comparing the Patriot Games to the popular book and film franchise Hunger Games, which focused on youngsters being chosen from each district of a dystopian nation to compete against each other.

Netizens have taken to social media platforms such as X to point towards the similarity between the franchise’s concept of the games and Trump’s Patriot Games. Many netizens have also shared hilarious jokes while making the comparison. One netizen wrote on X:

“DID HE JUST ANNOUNCE THE HUNGER GAMES”

DID HE JUST ANNOUNCE THE HUNGER GAMES https://t.co/nYflH0xak3

— kimi 🥝 (@kimichkis) December 18, 2025

While making a comparison between the Hunger Games franchise and the Patriot Games, another internet user said,

“Uh… this is the actual plot to the hunger games.”

Another commentator remarked on the similarity between the Hunger Games and the Patriot Games, and wrote,

“trump announcing the patriot games which is the same premise as the hunger games, bro what timeline are we in rn”

An X user gave the comparison a hilarious twist, and while poking fun at the announcement, implied that President Trump’s idea was influenced by the film itself. The user joked,

“Ok which one of handlers let him watch The Hunger Games last night????”

A netizen brought up a character from the Hunger Games, and also referred to the story’s plot points and remarked,

“President Snow has announced the first ever Hunger Games. I wonder when he’ll eliminate states rights and divide us into districts.”

President Snow has announced the first ever Hunger Games. I wonder when he’ll eliminate states rights and divide us into districts. https://t.co/cnteadzo87 pic.twitter.com/gxhtAHOEEp

— Camille MacKenzie (@CamRMacKenzie) December 18, 2025

While a majority of netizens found that the premise of the Hunger Games and the Patriot Games was similar, some did not find the comparison valid. A netizen countered,

“The Hunger Games is when you... encourage athleticism? Trump's definitely not the best messenger for this sure, but JFK too encouraged the athleticism of American youth. This fear mongering is silly.”

About President Donald Trump’s Patriot Games, which netizens say is similar to the premise of The Hunger Games

President Donald Trump unveiled plans to host the Patriot Games sometime in fall 2026 as part of celebrations for America’s 250th anniversary. Taking to the YouTube channel Freedom 250, which was launched to keep citizens apprised of the plans to celebrate the country’s 250th birthday, Trump said,

“In the fall, we will host the first ever Patriot Games, an unprecedented 4-day athletic event featuring the greatest high school athletes, one young man and one young woman from each state and territory.”

In addition to the Patriot Games, the country will celebrate the 250th year of its founding by building a triumphal arch monument, said the President, as per CNN.