Stephen King's Real Words on Trump: 'Worse Than Any Horror Story I Ever Wrote'

Stephen King, the best-selling horror author in the world, once said Donald Trump scared him more than his own books.

The quote is circulating again right now, but the version going around is not quite what King wrote. The popular version reads, "Donald Trump is worse than any horror story I've ever written." That wording has been shared on quote sites and memes for years, and it is often presented as something King said recently. It is a paraphrase.

King's actual words came in a tweet on May 3, 2017, a little over three months into Trump's first term. He wrote: "That this guy has his finger on the nuclear trigger is worse than any horror story I ever wrote."

So the comparison was real, but it was specifically about Trump's control of nuclear weapons. At the time, tensions with North Korea over its missile tests were rising. The question of who controls the nuclear codes was all over the news, and King was far from the only public figure weighing in.

That line carries weight coming from King. He is the author of "It," "The Shining," "Carrie," "Pet Sematary," "Misery" and more than 60 other novels. He has sold hundreds of millions of books, and his stories have been turned into dozens of films and TV series. When the man who created Pennywise says something frightens him, people notice.

King has been one of Trump's loudest critics in Hollywood and publishing for years. He has mocked Trump's speeches, his tweets and his supporters, often in blunt language. The feud became personal in June 2017, when King said Trump had blocked him on Twitter.

He later left the platform altogether in November 2024, saying the atmosphere on the site had become too toxic. He has continued to post political criticism on other platforms since then.

Trump supporters have long dismissed King's attacks as celebrity politics from a wealthy writer who lives in Maine and makes his living selling fear. They also point out that the nuclear disaster he warned about never came, and that the same years brought direct talks with North Korea's leader. To them, the quote reads as proof that entertainers overreact.

His fans see it differently. They say King is saying out loud what they think, and that the words of a famous writer still carry weight nearly a decade later.

Either way, the real quote is sharper and more specific than the one going around. Before sharing any celebrity quote, it helps to check the exact words and the date.

The tweet was picked up by national outlets, including The Hill, within hours. King first rose to fame with "Carrie" in 1974.

King turned 79 on September 21 and is still publishing, with recent novels including "Holly" and "Never Flinch." His political posts still draw millions of views.

From 1 to 10, how fair was King's comparison? Drop your number below.