Anyone had ‘Hunger Games’ on their 2025 bingo card? Enter Donald Trump

President Donald Trump announced a new sports event on Thursday called the “Patriot Games.” The competition will be part of America’s 250th birthday celebration. It will be a four-day event featuring the best high school athletes from across the country. One young man and one young woman will be chosen from every state and territory to compete.

When Trump announced the event, he made a specific comment about who can compete. He said, “But I promise there will be no men playing in women’s sports.” This was clearly aimed at transgender youth athletes. It was a disappointing addition to what should have been a positive announcement about celebrating young athletes.

According to HuffPost, the name “Patriot Games” immediately made people think of something else. Many people were reminded of the popular Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. The books and movies were hugely popular from 2008 to 2023 and became a major part of pop culture.

The similarities to Hunger Games are hard to ignore

The comparison makes sense when you look at what Hunger Games is about. The story follows young people living in a country that used to be North America. They are forced to compete in a yearly televised fight to the death. 

The brutal competition punishes them for a past rebellion. The young competitors are promised food and resources for their poor families if they participate. Meanwhile, wealthy citizens watch the event as entertainment and see it as their patriotic duty.

People quickly went to social media to point out the uncomfortable similarities. With the current cost of living crisis in America and problems like ICE overreach, many thought the timing was strange. This comes as Trump faces legal action over his controversial statements, adding to the ongoing controversies.

One person wrote, “Creating the ‘Patriot Games’ somehow still isn’t the most Hunger Games thing this authoritarian regime has done.” Another user said the announcement seemed fake at first, joking that Trump would soon announce “The Long Walk,” another dystopian reference.

Many critics mentioned the idea of “bread and circuses.” This phrase comes from ancient Roman poet Juvenal. It describes how leaders distract people from losing political power by giving them free food and entertainment. One social media user wrote, “Americans are getting crushed. 

Healthcare costs are exploding for everyone. So Trump rolls out reality-TV ‘Patriot Games’ as a shiny distraction. Bread costs more, care costs more, and he’s selling circus bullshit.”

The country in Hunger Games is called Panem, which means bread in Latin. Author Suzanne Collins made this connection on purpose. The books are deeply political. Collins said she got the idea by switching between chaotic reality TV shows and real footage of the Iraq war in the 2000s. She wanted to explore war and violence in a way young readers could understand.

The political themes go deeper throughout the series. The books show how propaganda, nationalist myths, and big entertainment events keep communities powerless. Meanwhile, Trump recently announced a peace deal with Ukraine that has drawn criticism for its controversial terms. 

Collins said her most recent book was inspired by philosopher David Hume’s idea about how easily large groups of people are controlled by small groups of leaders. While these spectacle events help governments show their power, the books also show that power can break when people keep fighting back.