Stephen King Post Criticizing Trump Backfires
Horror novelist Stephen King is no stranger to controversy, but his latest social media broadside aimed at President Donald Trump ignited backlash for a reason that had little to do with ideology and everything to do with basic facts.
In a post on X Monday, King unloaded on Trump’s personal life, writing: “Trump: has never had a child. Has been married 3 times. Ran several businesses into the ground. Never ran a home, couldn’t make a bed to save his a–. Calls people he works with dumb, losers, ect. Has never done sweat labor. Has never served on a local committee.”
He concluded: “[He] has no life experience.”
There was just one glaring problem. Trump is the father of five children.
The internet responded immediately. Accounts across the political spectrum — particularly conservative commentators — seized on the inaccuracy. Libs of TikTok replied bluntly: “Trump literally has 5 kids. What is this sh–?” 1776 Project PAC founder Ryan Girdusky added, “Um… I’m pretty sure Donald Trump had children.” Conservative writer Bonchie joked, “Is there a 25th Amendment for taking peoples’ phones away?” Reporter Jerry Dunleavy quipped, “Donald Trump, famously childless.”
The timing amplified the attention. Trump, now in his second presidential term, is set to deliver the 2026 State of the Union address Tuesday evening. King’s remarks landed just hours before the nationally televised speech.
Adding another twist, users pointed out that King’s post appeared to mirror a separate tweet targeting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. That earlier message, posted by an account called “Stacy is Right,” criticized the New York Democrat for lacking children, marriage, business experience, and what the author described as “real life experience.” King reshared that post before crafting his own version aimed at Trump.
Critics quickly accused the author of lifting the structure and tone of the original tweet and repurposing it. “You literally plagiarized an entire post… which was about AOC… and then applied it to Trump… for whom it isn’t true,” wrote Matt Van Swol, a former Department of Energy nuclear scientist. “Why are you plagiarizing? I thought you were a writer?”
The episode is the latest in a series of sharply worded political posts from King since Trump began his second term. In recent months, King has described Trump as “traitorous” and compared Immigration and Customs Enforcement to Nazi Germany’s Gestapo. He has also criticized Trump’s tariff policies, claiming they harm the economy.
King’s office did not respond to requests for comment regarding the factual error or the plagiarism allegations.
