Stephen King, the famous horror writer known for books like The Shining and It, hasn’t held back when it comes to sharing his opinion about Donald Trump. Over the past few days, he’s gone viral on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) for a series of angry and sarcastic posts aimed at the former president. Some of these posts have already been seen by millions of people and have sparked a lot of reactions.
It all started on Thursday, May 29, when Stephen posted a message saying, “If you’re a tax cheat and a Trump supporter, don’t worry. He’ll pardon you.” He was likely referring to Trump’s recent actions, where he pardoned several people convicted of financial crimes, including reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley who were found guilty of fraud and tax evasion. King’s comment was clearly meant to mock Trump’s willingness to forgive supporters with criminal records.
Later that same day, Stephen King posted another insult, this time calling Trump “TACO,” which he explained stood for “Trump Always Chickens Out.” This phrase is being used online to criticize Trump’s behavior when facing tough decisions, especially regarding trade and tariffs. The term “TACO” started out as a joke among financial experts, mocking Trump’s habit of making big threats and then backing down. Now, the nickname has become popular on social media, with many people using memes showing Trump as a taco or a chicken.
By the time this article was written, Stephen King’s tweets had been viewed more than two million times. One of the posts had nearly 10,000 retweets and over 64,000 likes. Clearly, his opinions struck a nerve with the online community.
But King wasn’t done. On Friday, May 30, he fired off yet another angry message, this time about how Trump’s decisions were hurting his home state of Maine. He blamed Trump’s strained relationship with Canada for a drop in Canadian tourists, which is affecting Maine’s economy. He ended the post with a very blunt insult aimed at Trump, showing just how frustrated he is.
In response to all of this, a spokesperson from the White House named Kush Desai criticized King’s posts. He said that King’s insults and made-up acronyms show how some critics don’t take serious issues seriously. Desai argued that Trump has actually helped the economy with strong job numbers, investment deals, and a new trade agreement with the UK, and that critics like King are just making fun of things they don’t understand.
Meanwhile, on TV, Trump also reacted angrily to being questioned about these trade strategies. When CNBC reporter Megan Casella asked him about the “TACO trade” idea, he snapped at her, saying it was the “nastiest” question and that she shouldn’t ask it again.
Trump defended his trade actions by saying that he had reduced tariffs on China and pressured the European Union by threatening high tariffs, which made them agree to trade talks. He insisted that backing off from the threats wasn’t weakness—it was strategy.
All of this drama has only added fuel to the fire online. The #TACOTrump meme has exploded, with people posting all kinds of images and jokes. Whether serious or silly, it’s clear the tension between Stephen King and Donald Trump isn’t going away anytime soon.
