Horror author Stephen King has gone viral after posting his thoughts about former President Jimmy Carter—and he has also shared his advice for President-elect Donald Trump.
King’s post, which juxtaposed his admiration for Carter with a jab at Trump, quickly went viral, sparking both applause and debate online. Newsweek emailed spokespeople for King and Trump for comment on Friday.
Carter died December 29 at his home in Georgia, his son James, who goes by Chip, said in a statement. The nation’s 39th president was 100 years old. The Carter Center said in a statement that there will be public observances in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., followed by a private interment in Plains, Georgia.
From left: Stephen King poses at Barnes & Noble Union Square on November 11, 2014 in New York City; and former President Jimmy Carter watches the Atlanta Falcons and the Cincinnati Bengals at Mercedes-Benz Stadium… From left: Stephen King poses at Barnes & Noble Union Square on November 11, 2014 in New York City; and former President Jimmy Carter watches the Atlanta Falcons and the Cincinnati Bengals at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 30, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. King has shared his thoughts about Carter online.
John Lamparski/Scott Cunningham/WireImage/Getty Images
King often takes to social media to share his opinion on various political and cultural topics and criticize such figures as Trump and billionaire Elon Musk—and December 31 was no different.
Posting to Threads, the author wrote: “If there’s a heaven, I’m sure of two things: First, Jimmy Carter is there already. Second, when Donald Trump’s time comes to stand before St. Peter, he better have a very good lawyer.”
His post has been viewed more than 500,000 times and received thousands of comments.
People took to the comments to disagree with King, with many saying they think Trump won’t even make his way to heaven.
“He won’t get in. Period,” one person wrote, while another added: “Nah! Trump is going straight down. No need for pretenses.”
“We all gotta die, nothing will keep Trump out of Hell,” someone else wrote.
“Trump’s not had a good lawyer in the last 25 years,” a fourth person commented.
However, not everyone shared their dislike for Trump, as someone else wrote: “I know he does bad things. Is he not good for America? I don’t think good people could run a country. But I really like you and I’ve grown up with your words so they do have a lot of value to me. I’d like to know why you don’t like him personally. And I asked it out of complete respect because like you are my written word since childhood first book I read I was nine and it was pet sematary. I asked out of complete respect.”
This isn’t the first time King has shared his thoughts on Carter, as he posted on Bluesky on the same day: “Jimmy Carter has passed away. My wife says he was the last decent man in politics.”
This is in stark contrast to his opinion of Trump. In the lead-up to the November election, King characterized Trump as “dangerous” and a “horrible” person and president. In September, he also suggested that Trump should “drop out” of the race for the White House, in light of President Joe Biden having done so on the Democratic ticket in the summer.
Also in September, King took aim at those placing trust in the Republican on economic matters, writing on X: “Voters saying they trust Trump with the economy is like saying you trust a drunk 17-year-old in a Corvette to drive you home safe.”
In a previous statement to Newsweek, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said the following: “Stephen King is a dumba**.”
King has long been an outspoken Democrat and, in 2016, he was one of 450 writers to sign an open letter slamming Trump’s presidential candidacy.
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