Stephen King tells Joe Biden he can’t beat Trump: ‘It’s time’ to quit

Article content

Stephen King has joined the chorus of prominent figures demanding President Joe Biden exit the 2024 presidential race.

Article content

“Joe Biden has been a fine president, but it’s time for him—in the interests of the America he so clearly loves—to announce he will not run for re-election,” King shared in an X post Monday morning.

King’s viral tweet divided his followers, with one person chastising the author for “abandoning Biden at the first bump in the road.”

“Making a change now would be foolish and would lead to a second Trump presidency,” they wrote.

Meanwhile, others opined that after a series of gaffes and a disastrous debate night performance against Donald Trump, no matter who the Democrats push forward, the momentum behind the presumptive Republican nominee is unstoppable. Tesla and X boss Elon Musk had some fun at King’s expense, tweeting: “Even Stephen King is voting for Trump!”

Article content

Article content

Article content

King, 76, has been a vocal critic of former President Trump for years. Since Trump’s first presidential campaign in 2016, King has referred to the businessman on social media as, among other things, a “blabbermouth,” “narcissistic,” “lazy,” “racist,” “unprepared” and “incompetent.”

“Having Trump as president is like tapping the drunkest guy at the party to be the designated driver,” King tweeted in 2018.

Last year, a Trump-supporting character in his latest novel Holly died of COVID.

“I think that a lot of people are not going to like it. I think that a lot of people — particularly people on the other side of the Covid issue and the Trump issue — are going to give it one-star reviews on Amazon. But all I can say to those people is, ‘Knock yourself out,’” he told Rolling Stone at the time.

Article content

Before the two squared off in the first presidential debate in late June, King went viral when he predicted Trump would lose his re-election bid against the 81-year-old Biden.

“Trump is going to lose. Prepare for it,” he wrote in a message that was viewed by over 5.8 million people on X.

Article content

Trump supporters bashed the horror author in the comments with conservative activist Scott Presler challenging the Cujo scribe, writing: “Wanna bet?”

“Stephen King is going to lose his mind when Trump wins. Prepare for it,” another person commented.

“In the immortal words of C-3PO: ‘I wish I had your confidence,’” a third wrote on Reddit.

Despite King’s enthusiastic endorsement, as well as a glitzy fundraiser attended by some of Hollywood’s most well-known names just weeks prior, Biden fared badly against Trump, stumbling and mumbling his way through the 90-minute debate that aired on CNN.

His dismal performance had many Democrats calling for him to step aside almost immediately after it mercifully ended.

Article content

Meanwhile, Trump is having a field day watching from the sidelines as the Democrats reel from the fallout after Biden’s flop was witnessed by tens of millions of Americans and viewers around the world.

In a video clip, obtained by the Daily Beast and shared to X last week,  the 78-year-old Trump was seen sitting in a golf cart as he brutally dismissed Biden’s chances of re-election this fall.

Trump, who was filmed behind the wheel as his son Baron rode shotgun, brandished a wad of cash as he asked a bunch of onlookers: “How did I do with the debate the other night?” 

After the group praised Trump, the former president went off on Biden and his vice president, Kamala Harris.

“We kicked that old, broken down pile of crap,” Trump said assessing his victory over his rival. “He’s a bad guy.”

Article content

Trump said Biden fared so badly that he’s likely going to drop out of the race.

“He just quit, you know — he’s quitting the race,” Trump continued. “I got him out — and that means we have Kamala.”

Article content

Before racing off in his cart, Trump fired off one last missive. “They just announced he’s probably quitting. Just keep knocking him out, huh?”

Trump shared a clip of the interaction on his Truth Social account with the caption: “NO TAX ON TIPS!”

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Play Video

Buoyed by his surge in popularity, a statement from Trump’s campaign team predicted the former president will trounce any other candidate the Democrats may tap to take Biden’s place because he has “a proven record and an agenda to Make America Great Again.”

Biden attempted to quell fears over his electability by participating in an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that aired Friday night. He also made public appearances at campaign stops in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin over the weekend.

Article content

But the chorus demanding he step down is becoming more vociferous.

In an email obtained by the New York Times, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, a prominent Democratic donor, reportedly wrote that Biden needs to drop out and the Democratic Party needs to find another candidate to take on Trump.

“Biden needs to step aside to allow a vigorous Democratic leader to beat Trump and keep us safe and prosperous,” Hastings wrote.

Damon Lindelof, who is best known for co-creating the TV hit Lost, also spoke out against the president in a guest column that appeared in Deadline. “Our president’s debate performance has been characterized in many ways; disappointing, upsetting, terrifying… but for me it was simply game-changing,” he wrote.

Article content

The View co-host Sara Haines begged Biden to walk away. “It was really hard to watch and it pains me to say this today, but I think President Biden needs to step down and be replaced,” Haines told her co-hosts. ““If we want to defeat Donald Trump in November then I absolutely think that. I think Biden’s team saw it coming. That’s why they pushed for an earlier debate, so they would have time to change course if needed.”

In addition to King, on Monday filmmaker Rob Reiner also urged Biden to leave the race in a message shared with his 2.3 million followers on X.

“It’s time to stop f—ing around,” Reiner wrote. “If the Convicted Felon wins, we lose our Democracy. Joe Biden has effectively served U.S. with honor, decency, and dignity. It’s time for Joe Biden to step down.”

Article content

But despite calls for him to leave, Biden has said he is determined to stick around and won’t be forced into quitting.

“I am firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump,” he wrote Monday in a two-page letter posted to X. “The question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now. And it’s time for it to end … The voters of the Democratic Party have voted. They have chosen me to be the nominee of the party.”

mdaniell@postmedia.com

Article content