Stephen King has said that former president Donald Trump would probably become more popular if he were to kill a dog.
The horror author and vocal Trump critic made the remark in a post on X, formerly Twitter, as South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has seen her political prospects fall amid widespread backlash over her writing about shooting her 14-month-old dog.
In a jab at Trump supporters' unwavering loyalty to the man fighting four criminal cases while seeking to regain the White House, King suggested the former president would not see a loss in support for killing a pet.
If Trump “killed a dog, his approval ratings would probably go up,” King wrote in the post on Saturday, which has since amassed more than half a million views and more than 1,000 “likes.”
If Trump killed a dog, his approval ratings would probably go up.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) May 4, 2024
A Trump spokesperson has been contacted for comment via email.
King's comment echoes a boast that Trump himself made during his 2016 presidential campaign about the loyalty of his supporters. “I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose voters,” he said.
Jim Spellman/WireImage
Noem, a Republican and close Trump ally, had been touted as a potential vice president pick in 2024.
But there has been a sharp fall in her odds of being running mate after it emerged that she describes shooting her “untrainable” wire-haired pointer named Cricket in her soon-to-be released book, No Going Back: The Truth on What's Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward.
In the book, Noem recounted leading her Cricket to a gravel pit and shooting it after it had attacked and killed her neighbor's chickens. The story prompted immediate criticism from both Democrats and Republicans.
But some on social media agreed with King that Trump would see a boost in popularity if he had done the same as Noem.
“MAGA members would line up with their dogs hoping he would shoot theirs next,” one person wrote in response to King's post.
Another wrote: “Before the day was out, the cult would have T-shirts printed that say ‘Real men kill dogs!'”
Trump supporters wrote that in such a scenario, Trump would have had a good reason to kill a dog.
“If Trump killed a dog it would mean the dog is rabid and someone needed to put it out of its misery. The people would know he is a real man and can handle man duties like putting down dogs in despair,” one supporter wrote.
Another wrote: “What if Trump killed an overrated leftist author? His ratings would definitely go up.”
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
