As Beyoncé and Taylor Swift continue to remain tight-lipped about their endorsements, Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign has once again found a celebrity mouthpiece in the form of Stephen King.
Granted, the It author has far less star power than those musicians (who are starry enough to warrant their own constellation), but the volume and poetic finesse of King’s support for Harris is worth something, especially when it is directed at Harris’ opponent (as it so often is).
In the last few weeks alone, King has lambasted Trump’s record on veterans, converted MAGA supporters with merely a t-shirt and a cap, called out the former president’s Herculean efforts in lying, and criticized Elon Musk for hosting an interview with his endorsee (and bromance counterpart) on X.
Since he’s one of the best-selling authors of all time, many of these call-outs have been worded in a way that tears Trump to shreds with razor-sharp precision, a feat made all the more impressive since the object of his criticisms has problems stringing even a small sentence together. King has kept that same energy in his most recent post about Trump on X, this time calling out the Republican candidate’s economic policies (or what exists of them, anyway).
“Voters saying they trust Trump with the economy is like saying you trust a drunk 17-year-old in a Corvette to drive you home safe.” Since it was written by an author, it feels apt to point out that King’s X post uses a simile to paint a vivid portrait of the kind of car crash, dumpster fire that might await the economy should Trump win the election in November. Somewhere out there, my English teacher is proud.
It’s a useful image too, since the last time Trump was asked about addressing economic stresses, he went on an incoherent tangent about bacon and China (sadly no mention of Hannibal Lecter, I’m sure to his dismay). Much like the horrific climaxes he writes, King’s tweet also comes at just the right time, following the Harris campaign’s release of a new ad comparing the two candidates’ economic policies.
The ad juxtaposes Harris’ economic focus on American families against Trump’s alleged emphasis on corporate tax cuts, or as King would put it, the result of a drunken teenager getting behind the wheel.
The only quibble I might have with the comparison is that Trump is less likely to be in a Corvette accident than he is in a golf cart pile-up, as we all know he rarely misses a day on the green.