Stephen King recently found himself in an unexpected spot of embarrassment when his criticism of Donald Trump turned out to be based on misinformation. The renowned author took to X on Sunday evening, expressing his disapproval after mistakenly believing that Trump had decided not to welcome the winners of the World Series to the White House.
“Trump says he won’t invite either team playing in the World Series to the White House,” King posted, expressing his disappointment. “He can’t rise above his petty political concerns even for the great American game. If anything shows what a louse he is, that’s it.”
However, King’s post quickly drew attention for all the wrong reasons. Alert followers were quick to correct him, pointing out that the claim he referenced originated from a fake social media post, not from any official account of Trump.
“That. Was. A. Fake. Post. Seriously, do you enjoy being lied to?” one commenter replied, highlighting the pitfalls of misinformation even among the most astute public figures.
Within minutes, King’s post was inundated with comments pointing out that the comments he read weren’t made on Trump’s legitimate social media accounts.
‘That. Was. A. Fake. Post. Seriously, do you enjoy being lied to?’ one critic responded.
‘You have been duped, yet again, Stephen. When will you learn to look before you leap?,’ another added.
King appears to have fallen for a satirical post which went viral as the World Series kicked off this week between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays.
Stephen King’s latest critique of Donald Trump backfired after fans noted he had fallen for a fake post
King’s post marks the second time in as many months that the 78-year-old author has unintentionally spread fake news on his X account
‘WE WILL BE INVESTIGATING THE UN AMERICAN BLUE JAYS WHO ARE ATTEMPTING TO STEAL OUR BELOVED WORLD SERIES,’ the alleged post read.
‘THEY WILL DEFINITELY NOT BE INVITED TO THE WHITE HOUSE.’
The White House issued a statement regarding the World Series on Saturday, describing both teams as ‘exceptional’ and having ‘earned their place through talent and determination.’
‘They remind us why baseball brings friends and neighbors together. Melania and I send our best wishes to the players, coaches, and fans for a fun and safe series.
‘May the best team win, and may God bless our national pastime and the United States of America.’
King’s post marks the second time in as many months that the 78-year-old author has unintentionally spread fake news on his X account.
He was forced to apologize last month after falsely stating Charlie Kirk had ‘advocated stoning gays to death’ in the aftermath of his assassination.
Social media users were outraged at the King of Horror’s tweet, which recorded more than 13 million views before he deleted it, and called it ‘evil’.
King deleted his initial post and apologized for ‘reading something on Twitter without fact checking.’ He vowed it ‘would not happen again.’
‘I apologize for saying Charlie Kirk advocated stoning gays,’ King tweeted in response to the backlash before going on to add: ‘What he actually demonstrated was how some people cherry-pick Biblical passages.’
The acclaimed author vented his frustrations on X on Sunday night after he heard that Trump had opted not to invite the winning team from the World Series to the White House
King previously has referred to Trump as a ‘horror story’ and said he would like to see the president ‘impeached.’
‘It’s a horror story either way. Trump is a horror story, isn’t he?’ he said.
By Saturday evening, Trump’s enthusiasm for the game took a turn when Ontario organized for an anti-tariff advertisement to air during the first two matches.
The ad used the words of former President Ronald Reagan to criticize US tariffs, angering Trump who said he would end trade talks with Canada.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he would pull the ad after the weekend.
‘Their Advertisement was to be taken down, IMMEDIATELY, but they let it run last night during the World Series, knowing that it was a FRAUD,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social as he flew aboard Air Force One.
‘Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10 percent over and above what they are paying now.’
Canada’s economy has been hit hard by Trump’s tariffs, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has been trying to work with Trump to lower them.
More than three-quarters of Canadian exports go to the U.S., and nearly $3.6 billion Canadian ($2.7 billion US) worth of goods and services cross the border daily.
Many Canadian products have been hit with a 35 percent tariff, while steel and aluminum face rates of 50 percent.
Energy products have a lower rate of 10 percent, while the vast majority of goods are covered by the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement, and are exempt from tariffs.
