There’s a fan theory that best-selling author and master of horror fiction Stephen King predicted the rise of Donald Trump in his novel about a clairvoyant who foresees a demagogic salesman win the U.S. presidency and start a global war.
Flash-forward to the present, in which President Trump, without offering any evidence, accused his predecessor of wiretapping his campaign offices, and King mocked him with a horror story, told in three tweets.
Chapter 1:
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Stephen King ✔ @StephenKing
Not only did Obama tap Trump's phones, he stole the strawberry ice cream out of the mess locker.
2:31 PM - 4 Mar 2017
12,779 12,779 Retweets 40,829 40,829 likes
A critic might argue that, tonally, King’s story is kind of a mess — starting off as light comedy in which Obama raids Trump’s freezer. (Or possibly a reference to a strawberry-focused investigation in “The Caine Mutiny.” Either way, not horror.)
But just wait. Writers love their plot twists.
The author has never been a Trump fan. “A Trump presidency scares me more than anything else,” King told Ron Charles, editor of The Washington Post’s Book World, during a Facebook Live interview. “I’m terrified that he’ll become president.”
Stephen King: ‘A Trump presidency scares me to death’ Play Video1:09
Author Stephen Kinging spoke to Ron Charles, editor of The Washington Post's Book World, during a Facebook Live interview in September. (The Washington Post)
King also made the same connection as many of his fans when he compared Trump to a populist salesman in his novel “The Dead Zone” who campaigns against the political establishment and, in the protagonist’s vision, ends up with his finger on the nuclear button.
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Stephen King ✔ @StephenKing
Populist demagogues like He Who Must Not Be Named aren't a new thing; see THE DEAD ZONE, published 37 years ago.
10:25 AM - 15 Mar 2016
1,257 1,257 Retweets 3,204 3,204 likes
Spoiler: The clairvoyant stops the salesman from becoming president. Whatever similarities one might draw between the character Greg Stillson and Trump, Trump won the election.
As president, Trump has demonstrated a hair trigger on Twitter — most recently on Saturday morning, when he fired off tweets accusing Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower in October.
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Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!
9:02 AM - 4 Mar 2017
53,380 53,380 Retweets 164,632 164,632 likes
Back to the horror story that Trump’s tweets inspired. Chapter 2 of the “Home Invasion of Donald Trump,” by Stephen King:
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Stephen King ✔ @StephenKing
Obama tapped Trump's phones IN PERSON! Went in wearing a Con Ed coverall. Michelle stood guard while O spliced the lines. SAD!
2:37 PM - 4 Mar 2017
25,104 25,104 Retweets 74,138 74,138 likes
Still, not really scary. But before we get to the conclusion, some brief exposition. Trump hasn’t cited any evidence that Obama spied on him, and White House staff have offered none — though a deputy press secretary called for an investigation and said: “If this happened … this is the largest abuse of power that, I think, we have ever seen.”
Trump accuses Obama of ordering Trump Tower wiretap Play Video2:28
President Trump accused former president Barack Obama of wiretapping his calls in Trump Tower. Here's a timeline of their relationship since inauguration. (Video: Thomas Johnson, Claritza Jimenez, Monica Akhtar/Photo: Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)
An Obama spokesman and a former intelligence director said there was no wiretap. Some speculated that Trump was referring to claims on talk radio and the conservative website Breitbart that Obama used “police state” tactics against him. Others accused Trump of trying to distract from reports that his staff covered up conversations with Russian officials during the campaign.
And some simply poked fun at the president. King was not alone there.
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Jon Favreau ✔ @jonfavs
Barack Obama's master plan:
1) Wiretap the opposition
2) Gather damaging info
3) Say nothing
4) Let him win
5) Ride off into the sunset
1:44 AM - 5 Mar 2017
58,050 58,050 Retweets 150,949 150,949 likes
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Bruce Bartlett @BruceBartlett
Take Nixon in the deepest days of his Watergate paranoia, subtract 50 IQ points, add Twitter, and you have Trump today.
11:40 AM - 4 Mar 2017
23,292 23,292 Retweets 46,283 46,283 likes
But as far as we can tell, King is the only one to put a “Psycho”-style spin on the mockery.
So, then, that last chapter:
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Stephen King ✔ @StephenKing
Trump should know OBAMA NEVER LEFT THE WHITE HOUSE! He's in the closet! HE HAS SCISSORS!
4:37 PM - 4 Mar 2017
64,216 64,216 Retweets 173,771 173,771 likes
Did you see that one coming? Honestly, the twist is a bit shopworn. But what can you expect? King has been telling stories for half a century, going after Trump for a full year, and wrote that last one in two hours.
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