Pair a signature red tie, distinct blond coif and unmistakable orange hue and you get Trumpy Cat. That's the main character of actor and activist George Takei's newest creation: House of Cats. In partnership with Montreal-based company BMAD, Takei has designed an app that pokes fun at some of the current commander in chief's more memorable quotes and political decisions — with an intentionally "cheeky" reference to the popular revived Netflix political drama "House of Cards."
"This is, without a doubt, one of the most absurd and tragic moments in U.S. history. We should feel upset about some of the things that are happening, but we created this app so we can laugh about some of the more ridiculous stuff," said Takei.
Using an augmented reality system, app users can tour the inside of the oval office and interact with both Trumpy Cat and some of his friends and enemies like Meowlania, Vladdy Putin and Lil' Rocket Pug. If users ask Trumpy Cat to speak, he'll utter some real-life Donald Trump quotes like, "This is a country where we speak English, not Spanish" and "ISIS is honoring President Obama. He is the founder of ISIS."
Additionally, users can take pictures with Trumpy Cat in the background, make their own videos and even use the microphone to make him say anything they'd like.
Takei said that the app is his way of holding the current administration accountable while using humor to bring people together.
"House of Cats is a way for ordinary citizens to participate in the politics of the day. The app is a humorous take, yes, but humor is a great way to bring people together, so we are laughing along with — and not always sniping at — one (an)other," Takei said. "And I certainly will be using the app to hold this administration's feet to the fire. We have great, original content ready to roll out, which lampoons the current administration and this president. I can't wait for my fans to see it."
And in the spirit of bringing people together, the app's 99-cent price tag is intentional. Part of the net profits from the app will be donated to Refugees International. It's an organization that describes itself as specializing in "refugee, displacement, humanitarian and human rights issues." Takei said that choosing this organization was a method to directly target those who are affected by the "inhumane policies promulgated by the Trump Administration."
"Many are families simply seeking to escape violence and terror in their own homelands, who suddenly faced even more horrors at our border. It broke my heart to see the separation of families. The makeshift detention centers and camps they were sent to stirred strong memories of my own childhood incarceration in a Japanese-American internment camp," Takei said. "So I wanted to bring some light to this issue by having some proceeds from the app help families like these, whether at our borders or in other parts of the world where the refugee crisis has been so devastating. The app is being offered worldwide, and all across the world refugees need our attention and compassion."
When asked what he hopes the reaction will be if anyone in the real-life "House of Cats" sees the app, he said he'd love to receive a direct tweet.
"I'm expecting that at some point, Donald, or perhaps Don, Jr., will get wind of this and come at me with a tweet saying that House of Cats is a failing app only used by losers," Takei said. "I suppose that's how we'll know that it was actually a huge success."
The app is available for purchase on both Apple and Android app stores.
