Almost ten years later, a somewhat eerie forecast made during Donald Trump’s first term is bubbling back to the surface.
On December 17, the man known as both the 45th and 47th president shared his excitement for an upcoming event, themed Freedom 250, to honor the United States’ 250th birthday next year.
One of the highlighted activities is called the “Patriot Games,” which Trump described as a groundbreaking four-day sports event showcasing young athletic talent from across the nation—featuring the top high school athletes from every state and territory.
This announcement soon drew some interesting connections to the popular young-adult series turned movie franchise, The Hunger Games, crafted by Suzanne Collins. In this fictional world, young people from each district are chosen to battle it out until only one remains, while the Patriot Games are, naturally, just a sports competition.
As soon as Trump shared this news, folks on social media were quick to draw analogies between the two; an almost decade-old meme has resurrected and is now spreading like wildfire online.
The meme first appeared on incoming platform X (formerly Twitter) back in March 2016, shared by user @ericsmithrocks. It humorously predicted Trump’s presidency journey with captions like, “2016: Trump won’t win. 2017: Can President Donald Trump really do this? 2018: Are you watching The Hunger Games tonight? I hope my district wins.”
Another user on Threads, @dolphinsrkewl1996, retrieved a screenshot of this post and amusingly noted, “Looks like Eric gets partial credit for calling the Hunger Games back in early 2016.”
View on Threads
This revived meme got a lot of attention, racking up over 1,600 likes!
Former basketball athlete Rod Benson also chimed in on his Threads account, highlighting, “I’ve had this meme saved since back in 2016, and only now did the Hunger Games angle actually make sense!” His post also caught the eye of many, gaining around 1,500 likes.
As for the original poster, Eric Smith, he’s well-known as an author and literary agent, and shared his tweet back in March 2016, just three months into Trump’s initial presidency.
Fast forward to present day, Trump had experienced a loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 elections but made a comeback by winning against Kamala Harris in 2024, reclaiming his position in January 2025.
When reached out to give his thoughts on how his post gained traction almost nine years later, Smith remarked in an interview with Newsweek: “Every time something troubling happens, which appears to be increasingly frequent, we witness people online expressing thoughts like ‘The kids raised with dystopian books are ready for this’ but ultimately it’s the adults holding power—and it’s more on us now.”
After Trump’s announcement, several notable political figures linked the Patriot Games with The Hunger Games. California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, a consistent Trump critic, put out a witty comment quoting the homage from the series, stating, “May the odds be ever in your favor.”
The scheduled Patriot Games will occur in 2026, celebrating 250 years since the USA claimed its independence on July 4, 1776.
More information is slated to be revealed concerning the Patriot Games and the accompanying events in the near future.
