Famed horror writer and frequent Trump critic Stephen King took what turned out to be a very brief break over the weekend from obsessively trolling the president to do what Trump himself has been trying do since the coronavirus first hit the U.S.: encourage everyone to take a breath and get a little perspective. After channeling Trump for four short sentences, however, King was back to firing off Trump-slamming tweets to his 5.7 million followers.
King has been tweeting about Trump and coronavirus for a few weeks now. Back on Feb. 26, he mockingly assured everyone that Trump’s got the whole thing under control. “Trump got pissed off at the coronavirus and fired it. So don’t worry. It’s gone. it has learned what happens when you make Mr. MAGA mad,” he tweeted. He followed that up the next day with a similar tweet about the stock market responding to coronavirus fears: “Trump is mad at the stock market, so he fired it.”
“Hard to believe there was ever a world leader as dumb as Donald Trump,” King mused the next day. “Can’t spell, can’t read, has never managed anything approaching an original thought. His brain is like a radio playing at top volume, but between stations.”
The following day, King retweeted a post declaring Trump “racist” for saying controlling the border is important in trying to protect Americans from the virus: “You’ve spent YEARS denigrating the Mexican people,” the post reads. “Now you suggest that the [coronavirus] is coming from Mexico. It’s not. You know it & the [Centers for Disease Control] knows it I APOLOGIZE TO THE GOOD PEOPLE OF MEXICO FOR OUR RACIST PRESIDENT.”
After riffing off the Democratic Los Angeles mayor’s faltering attempts to get a handle on the homelessness and trash crisis in the Democrat-controlled city, calling Trump “a trashy person,” King slammed Trump’s claim that his administration has a “perfectly coordinated and fine-tuned plan” for coronavirus.
“We have a perfectly coordinated and fine tuned plan at the White House for our attack on CoronaVirus,” Trump tweeted. “We moved VERY early to close borders to certain areas, which was a Godsend. V.P. is doing a great job. The Fake News Media is doing everything possible to make us look bad. Sad!”
The prolific author replied, simply, “You haven’t got sh**.”
But while he clearly is no fan of Trump and apparently does not agree that his administration has a “perfectly coordinated and fine-tuned plan,” King did briefly align with Trump on the degree of panic that many people are allowing themselves to fall into over the virus.
“No, coronavirus is NOT like THE STAND,” King tweeted Sunday in reference to his apocalyptic sci-fi/fantasy novel. “It’s not anywhere near as serious. It’s eminently survivable. Keep calm and take all reasonable precautions.”
The next morning, Trump posted some statistics intended to create the same effect on his 73.5 million followers: “So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu,” the president tweeted early Monday. “It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life [and] the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!”
By that time, though, King’s temporary accord with the president was already over. The author started off the week blasting away at his favorite target again.
“Donald Trump: the man is an idiot,” he tweeted Monday. “That’s who we have in charge during this crisis: an idiot.”
“The stock market didn’t tank. That’s fake news. There is no coronavirus. More fake news. It’s all a Democratic hoax,” he declared in another.
A few of King’s Trump and coronavirus posts below:
Trump got pissed off at the coronavirus and fired it. So don’t worry. It’s gone. it has learned what happens when you make Mr. MAGA mad.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) February 27, 2020
Trump is mad at the stock market, so he fired it.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) February 27, 2020
Hard to believe there was ever a world leader as dumb as Donald Trump. Can’t spell, can’t read, has never managed anything approaching an original thought. His brain is like a radio playing at top volume, but between stations.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) February 29, 2020
That is because, Donald, you are a trashy person. https://t.co/5PVzSUyNUw
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) March 4, 2020
You haven't got shit. https://t.co/NE6g1hOc5O
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) March 8, 2020
No, coronavirus is NOT like THE STAND. It’s not anywhere near as serious. It’s eminently survivable. Keep calm and take all reasonable precautions.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) March 8, 2020
Donald Trump: the man is an idiot.
That’s who we have in charge during this crisis: an idiot.— Stephen King (@StephenKing) March 9, 2020
The stock market didn’t tank. That’s fake news.
There is no coronavirus. More fake news.
It’s all a Democratic hoax.— Stephen King (@StephenKing) March 9, 2020