Stephen King’s Comments on Donald Trump Debate Go Viral: ‘Barking Mad’

Author Stephen King once again took aim at former president Donald Trump during the televised presidential debate on Tuesday evening.
Trump and his Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris, took part in a fiery televised debate hosted on ABC in Pennsylvania, and there was no shortage of commentary from internet users throughout the 90-minute contest.
King, a frequent Trump critic, was one of them. He wrote on X, formerly Twitter, during the debate: “Trump sounds barking mad.” The post has been viewed more than a million times and liked by 68,000 accounts.
Other X user agreed with King. One account, posting under the name Political, wrote in response to King: “He is mad in every sense of the word. Trump is unwell, he is dangerous, he must be voted against decisively in November.”
Another, Perry Masonry, posted: “He’s Insane. I hope the American people recognize what a completely unstable nut bar he is.”
Others sided with the former president. Sandy Author wrote: “He is expressing the feelings of most of the American people—those who don’t live in a bubble like you do.”
Another, Sue, said the former president “should be” mad. “We need someone to fight for this country and not let a communist takeover,” they wrote.
When contacted by Newsweek regarding King’s comment, Trump’s campaign team said Trump was the “clear winner” of the debate.
“President Trump delivered a masterful debate performance tonight, prosecuting Kamala Harris’ abysmal record of failure that has hurt Americans for the last 4 years,” the statement reads. “We saw President Trump lay out his bold vision of America and how he would continue to build upon the successes of his first term by supercharging the economy, securing the border, and stopping crime from ravaging communities across the country.
“Conversely, Kamala’s vision of America was a dark reminder of the oppressive, big government policies of Joe Biden that she wants to continue. High inflation, a porous border that allows criminals and terrorists to flood across, and being soft on crime— that is what Kamala represents,” it continues. “The choice could not be more clear— President Trump was the clear winner tonight, and he will win for America when he returns to the White House.”
King followed up his initial post with further observations. “Notice how red he’s getting,” he wrote in follow up post. In another, responding to a user who said ABC moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis were “not moderating,” King posted: “They have allowed Trump a disproportionate amount of time to mansplain.”
Others disagreed with King, saying Trump was not just debating Harris, but Muir and Davis also. One user wrote: “This is a three verse one debate in Trump is still winning.”
Another, Lori Love, remarked: “They disproportionately fact checked Trump and let Kamala lie uninterrupted.”
King’s observation was still supported, however. “That’s okay, he’s his own worst enemy, let the lunatic show his true colors for all to see,” NicolasRiver responded.
During the debate, the Republican nominee made unsubstantiated claims regarding immigrants eating people’s pets in Ohio, which led to a significant reaction online.
“A lot of towns don’t want to talk about it because they’re so embarrassed by it. In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs,” Trump said. The people that came in. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating—they’re eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what’s happening in our country. And it’s a shame.”
Rumors began circulating earlier this week regarding Haitian immigrants killing and eating dogs and cats, which came from a Facebook post and was pushed online by several conservative commentators.
In a statement on Tuesday, a Springfield police spokesperson told Reuters: “In response to recent rumors alleging criminal activity by the immigrant population in our city, we wish to clarify that there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”
Update 09/11/24, 7:42 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include a statement from the Trump campaign.