At long last, the king of Twitter (the use of the old name is intentional) has returned, with Stephen King making his grand entrance back to the platform with some expected (and deserved) words for Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
Of course, there was a time when such commentary from the author was commonplace, but his departure from X in the wake of Trump’s presidential victory left our timelines relatively sparse (and criminally un-entertaining). Now, he’s back with a vengeance, and what better way to mark his arrival than with a searing criticism of his two most common enemies. Before he got to that, however, King started things off playfully, writing to his nearly seven million followers on his newly reinstated X page; “I’m baaaack! Did you miss me?”
I’m baaaack! Did you miss me?
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) February 20, 2025
The answer is a resounding YES! Since our collective X feeds have been in dire need of King’s consistent (and often hilarious) ability to keep the president and his loyalists in check. And that’s exactly what he did, catching up for lost time with an all-encompassing takedown of Trump and his bestie, FLOTUS and partner in crime. “Just wanted to say that Trump is a traitorous, Putin-loving dips***!” King wrote, clearly relishing in his newfound ability to shout into the Musk-owned void. Speaking of such, don’t think for a second that King forgot to name-drop the billionaire.
“Goes double for Elon!” he added, reviving a feud with Musk that stretches back to 2023. Oh, we’re so back, baby! Of course, the actual content of King’s post is just as worthwhile as his post-Blue Sky return, with the author obviously addressing Trump’s seeming kinship with the Russian President in recent weeks. While he has long had an affinity for the dictator, Trump’s second term has seen him forge even closer ties with Putin, to the point where he this week wrongly accused Ukraine of starting the conflict with Russia.
Yep, Trump is siding with the invader, and even labelled Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a “dictator” in a post on Truth Social. It’s times like these when we critically need a voice like King’s, to remind us that it isn’t us who is going mad, it’s the President of the United States. In terms of why Musk was also called out in King’s X post… well, where do I begin? Shall I start with the terrifyingly familiar hand gesture at the inauguration? Or perhaps his threat to jail members of the free press?
Or even the drastic overreach of his DOGE program, which has gone after critical government agencies and has given him access to sensitive data and trillions of dollars? While it all might feel rather dire, there’s at least a familiarity in King’s return to Twitter, which has long been the site of his much-needed commentary on both Trump and Musk. In November, he led the charge in branding the billionaire FLOTUS, and served as a fact-checker for the umpteenth lies told by the Tesla owner.
I’m leaving Twitter. Tried to stay, but the atmosphere has just become too toxic. Follow me on Threads, if you like.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) November 14, 2024
Before that, he rightfully took to X to pose questions around Trump’s cognitive abilities, as well as lament the current state of democracy. While he wasn’t the only notable name to flock to Blue Sky amid Musk’s ascendance — joining the likes of Mark Hamill and George Takei — we sure are glad that the King is back!
