Stephen King’s Dig at Donald Trump Takes Off Online

Author Stephen King‘s latest jab at former President Donald Trump is gaining steam on social media.

King, an outspoken Democrat and frequent Trump critic who penned classic horror novels like The Shining and Carrie, poked fun at the advanced age of the 78-year-old former president on Wednesday in a post to X, formerly Twitter.

While responding to a post from a MAGA supporter asking if he was “ready for Trump to be your president again,” King wrote the following: “But he’s so OLD! :-)”

Newsweek reached out for comment to the Trump campaign via email on Wednesday night.

Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung previously wrote the following in an email to Newsweek: “Stephen King is a dumbass.”

King’s post was seemingly a tongue-in-cheek reference to previous criticisms of 81-year-old President Joe Biden, who was often accused of being “too old” to serve before dropping out of this year’s presidential election and endorsing 59-year-old Vice President Kamala Harris on July 21.

Several Trump supporters who responded to King on Wednesday appeared to be unaware of the post possibly not being a genuine criticism of the age of presidential candidates.

“He’s younger than Joe Biden and you were kissing his ass and promoting him to be president just a few days ago!” @josettecaruso wrote in response to King’s post.

“You were all about Biden like 10 minutes ago [face with tears of joy emoji],” wrote @vileTexan.

“Younger than your best buddy Joe Biden,” @Idedj wrote.

Others responded to King by piling on claims that Trump is too old to serve another term as president.

“Listen, I don’t want to disrespect my elders, but the fact that MAGA is shoving the shambling husk of what used to be Donald Trump out on the campaign trail is just shameful,” wrote comedian Jay black. “He’s obviously very tired. He’s caustic and confused. Let the man rest, republicans. He needs it.”

“SO old!! Over the hill. Out to pasture,” @PatrickDoyle_35 wrote.

Trump became the oldest presidential nominee of any major political party in U.S. history by officially securing the GOP nomination during last week’s Republican National Convention. Biden dropping out of the race all but ensures that the record will not be broken again this election cycle.

Despite being just three years younger than Biden, and also prone to gaffes during public speaking, Trump had not previously faced the same level of scrutiny over his age or cognitive ability prior to the incumbent president’s withdrawal.

Historian Heather Cox Richardson wrote in her Letters from an American Substack blog earlier this week that there had been some indications that the former president’s age and mental lapse could soon become major issue for his campaign.

A poll conducted on Monday and Tuesday by Reuters and Ipsos suggested that voters do have age concerns about Trump: 53 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that “Donald Trump is too old to work in government,” while 43 percent disagreed.

Meanwhile, in the same poll, 56 percent of registered voters agreed that Harris is “mentally sharp and able to deal with challenges,” with only 37 percent disagreeing.