Overview
- The White House posted an edited image of SpongeBob wearing a MAGA hat on July 14, the post included a White House logo and was reposted by President Trump.
- Fans and reporters traced the picture to Season 3’s 'One Krabs Trash,' an episode that makes the '#1' soda-drinking hat a joke by showing it is common and therefore valueless.
- Social media users quickly mocked the post with memes and critical replies that said SpongeBob’s on-screen values of kindness and inclusion conflict with using the character as a political mascot.
- No retraction or correction has been reported, and outlets noted this follows a February 2025 example when the president used SpongeBob imagery in political posts.
- The episode mix-up highlights the risks of repurposing pop-culture images for political messaging and suggests teams should verify cultural context before publishing to avoid rapid online blowback.