This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia, which closed in 2021.

No Joke, Trump's New Slogan Is The Same One From 'The Purge'

No Joke, Trump's New Slogan Is The Same One From 'The Purge'
JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images Universal Pictures

Everyone who thought the Trump campaign was something out of a horror movie, well, you were right.

In a recent talk with The Washington Post, President-elect Donald Trump halted an interview about the origins of his “Make America Great Again” slogan to trademark a new one. And this one’s a real humdinger.

From The Washington Post:

Halfway through his interview with The Washington Post, Trump shared a bit of news: He already has decided on his slogan for a reelection bid in 2020.

“Are you ready?” he said. “ ‘Keep America Great,’ exclamation point.”

“Get me my lawyer!” the president-elect shouted.

Two minutes later, one arrived.

“Will you trademark and register, if you would, if you like it — I think I like it, right? Do this: ‘Keep America Great,’ with an exclamation point. With and without an exclamation. ‘Keep America Great,’ ” Trump said.

“Got it,” the lawyer replied.

“Keep America Great.” It just rolls off the tongue, right? The only problem is, it’s already taken ...

Yeah, Trump’s new slogan is literally the same exact one used in the fittingly titled horror movie “The Purge: Election Year.”

(You really can’t make this stuff up.)

Actually, the movie basically made the slogan as a way to troll Trump. While discussing the film, star Frank Grillo told Comicbook.com:

“In the beginning when we shot the movie it wasn’t called Purge: Election Year,” Grillo reveals. “Oddly enough, the guy who plays the President in the movie, he plays him like Trump - totally by accident. There’s a lot of parallels between the GOP race and the movie and the messages that are being put forward and then Universal got this great idea to call it Purge: Election Year.”

And now, the president-elect wants to use the slogan from the film as his own:

Sad. Just sad.

For those unfamiliar with the franchise, “The Purge” movies are about one night a year when all crime is legal. You can murder, steal and even shoot a gun on Fifth Avenue without repercussion. So yeah, that’s not really instilling confidence in the next four years.