Trump Unveils New Space Force Logo, Inciting 'Star Trek' Fan Outrage
In the voyage to the final frontier there is a wave of ridicule being directed toward President Trump who unveiled the U.S. Space Force logo on Friday afternoon.
"After consultation with our Great Military Leaders, designers and others, I am pleased to present the new logo for the United States Space Force, the Sixth Branch of our Magnificent Military!" Trump tweeted.
Welp, it appears as though many of those great leaders "and others" were likely — even if subconsciously — influenced by Star Trek because the design of its signature image is nearly identical.
"THIS IS THE STARFLEET LOGO!" The New York Times reporter Sopan Deb was quick to text-shout on Twitter.
"THE U.S. GOVERNMENT TOOK A THING FROM A TV SHOW AND MADE IT THE OFFICIAL EMBLEM OF A BRANCH OF THE MILITARY," he continued.
To many critics it seems highly illogical that the similarities to the iconic patch from the beloved television program were not somehow ... modified. That the administration has approved and boldly gone where 1960s television art designers went decades ago is absolutely baffling.
Actor George Takei, who played Sulu on the original version of the show, wondered, "Is nothing sacred?" He also suggested royalties might be due.
Within an hour of its grand reveal the design was mocked as stolen and an "obvious Star Trek knockoff."
"What's next, Buzz Lightyear as their mascot??" one Twitter user asked.
Plenty of others have expressed (perhaps feigned) concern over copyright infringement.
"Swell, now taxpayers get to pay for lawyers when you're sued by Paramount and the Roddenberry estate..." Twitter user Ned Pyle wrote.
"You are looking at history in the making," Timothy Young maintained, "Star Fleet will obviously be an off-shoot of Space Force so it makes sense that the current logo will eventually evolve into the final logo."
In an effort to defend the latest branding move, others have noted the new logo is not so new.
"For those excitedly tweeting that Trump stole the Star Trek logo!!!!, the patch on the left was the existing Air Force Command logo. The same one I wore as a Lieutenant in 2005," John Noonan, a national security analyst, tweeted. [Copyright 2020 NPR]
