Stephen King was unrestrained in his criticism of Donald Trump’s remarks regarding free speech, which were also blasted on CNN. The President addressed what he called aggressive press coverage last week at the Oval Office, saying, “I’m a very strong person for free speech. But 97, 94, 95, 96% of the people are against me in the sense that the newscasts are against me.”
“The stories are- they said 97% bad. So, they gave me 97, they’ll take a great story, and they’ll make it bad. See, I think that’s really illegal, personally.” There is “no longer free speech,” he added, before going on to say, “That’s no longer anything.” That is simply dishonest.
King, who recently caused controversy with his words over Charlie Kirk’s death, has criticized the President’s statements.
Mr. Trump himself has repeatedly made clear in recent days that he has a different goal. For him, it’s not about hate speech, but about speech that he hates — namely, speech that is critical of him and his administration.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) September 21, 2025
Posting on X, King responded, “Mr. Trump himself has repeatedly made clear in recent days that he has a different goal. For him, it’s not about hate speech, but about speech that he hates — namely, speech that is critical of him and his administration.”
“That phrase is from what trumpty-Dumpty likes to term “the failing New York Times,”” the author stated in a subsequent post. Fans backed him up in the comments. King’s remarks coincide with CNN host Kaitlan Collins criticizing Trump’s assertions of free speech.
She said, “Tonight, President Trump says overly negative coverage of him is illegal, as he is ousting a prosecutor that he picked who declined to indict one of his political opponents without enough evidence.”
Collins added, “President Trump is no longer just suggesting that some TV networks should have their licenses revoked. He now seems to be clearly saying that he – the coverage that he deems to be too negative is illegal.”
In an interview, King indicated that the worst thing he could conceive of regarding Trump is the president negotiating an unprecedented third term in office. Speaking to MSNBC’s Ali Velshi, King said: “The worst thing that I could think of is that this guy would get a third term because he’s basically an idiot, isn’t he? I mean, he doesn’t read.”
We can kid about Trump, but it’s no joking matter. He and his cronies, aided and abetted by the Supreme Court, are turning America into a fascist, authoritarian state. The Republicans need to stop putting party over country and recognize the danger.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) August 27, 2025
“That is a dangerous thing,” King added. “He is basically, I don’t want to use the word ‘crazy,’ because I don’t really think that he is, but he’s certainly dangerous.”
“We can kid about Trump, but it’s no joking matter,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter) earlier. “He and his cronies, aided and abetted by the Supreme Court, are turning America into a fascist, authoritarian state. The Republicans need to stop putting party over country and recognize the danger.”
