‘It Wasn’t Just a Bad Joke But It Was a Racist One’: Stephen King’s Attempt to Mock Donald Trump Backfires Badly — MAGA Calls for Boycott, and Black Fans Accuse Him of Crossing the Line
Stephen King‘s stab at being funny on social media backfired in a major way. The author has been flooded with roars of disappointment and vitriol after his latest swipe at Donald Trump.
The “Misery” mastermind has been openly critical of the Republicans’ political agenda for years.
In a May 7 Threads post, the “King of Horror” flipped the “Why did the chicken cross the road” joke to mock the outlandish claims Trump made about Haitian immigrants eating domestic pets in Springfield, Ohio.
King wrote, “Why did Donald J. Trump cross the road? To see Haitians eating pets on the other side.” The public figure first made the baseless accusation during the presidential debate against Kamala Harris in September 2024.
For some, like MAGA supporters, the humor was hard to find. “It’s giving….. CANCELLED,” wrote one person. A second commented, “boycottstephenking.”
His black fans, though, were also flabbergasted by the wisecrack even when they understood that Trump’s lies were the punchline. One such reaction read, “This is not the way to be an ally. You can punch up without kicking down at the same time.”
Another declared, “Watch your mouth,” while sharing a post that said, “Stares in ancestral disgust.”
Donald Trump yaps about immigrants eating cats and dogs then gets fact check
bro…… this is insane
pic.twitter.com/XrgP5l6d2m
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod
(@big_business_) September 11, 2024
The author responded to the backlash with a follow-up post on May 11. It read, “The joke was about Trump. If you don’t get that, you should see a doctor and get your sense of humor checked.”
But King’s sarcastic rip of Trump’s 2024 reelection campaign lies was hardly over.
He accompanied the message with a meme that stated, “Anyone else notice how all of a sudden no one’s eating your cats and dogs anymore? No one’s performing sex change operations in schools or aborting babies after birth anymore. The price of eggs doesn’t matter and a recession isn’t a bad thing, it’s just a necessary growing pain.”
The posts did the opposite of de-escalating the digital discourse. Fired-up users expressed that King had struck more than just Trump supporters in his attempt at humor. Several took offense at the joke referring to marginalized people.
In particular, King provoked some users to accuse him of being racially insensitive. “Rather than seeing you made a mistake and been an adult about it, you’re doubling down. As most White Men do. How predictable,” a critic wrote.
Another observer said, “It wasn’t just a bad joke but it was racist one. I thought a writer of your merit would have more self awareness. You’re not above criticism. Do better.”
Amid the hoopla, King is promoting the newly released trailer for “The Long Walk,” the film is an adaptation of his 1979 book of the same name. It is set for a September release.