A social media post by horror novelist Stephen King ignited a wave of online criticism Monday after he took aim at President Donald Trump’s personal background just as the president prepares to deliver the State of the Union.
According to Fox News, King posted a list of claims about Trump on X, 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 the post by saying, “[He] has no life experience.”
The comments quickly drew pushback from users on the platform, with some accusing King of copying the structure of a separate post directed at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez days earlier.
That earlier message, shared by an account calling itself “Stacy is Right,” criticized the New York lawmaker for not having children, never being married, and lacking business or professional experience. King reshared that post before publishing his remarks about Trump.
“You literally plagiarized an entire post…which was about AOC… and then applied it to Trump…… for whom it isn’t true and doesn’t make any sense. Why are you plagiarizing? I thought you were a writer?” Matt Van Swol, a former Department of Energy nuclear scientist, wrote in response.
The exchange unfolded as Trump was set to address Congress and the nation Tuesday evening, delivering the administration’s annual report on its work.
King has been a frequent critic of the president and his policies on social media. Since Trump began his second term, the author has posted multiple messages attacking the president and members of his administration.
In February 2025, King wrote, “Just wanted to say that Trump is a traitorous, Putin-loving dipsh–! Goes double for Elon!”
He has also compared federal immigration enforcement to Nazi Germany’s secret police, writing, “ICE is the American Gestapo,” and previously blamed Trump’s tariffs for economic problems, saying, “Trump is ruining the economy with his stupid tariffs.”
