Author Stephen King has responded to Donald Trump's presidential election victory by sharing a social media post about the fragility of democracy.
Hours after polled closed on Tuesday, Trump was declared the winner of several battleground states. CNN had declared him the victor in Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. Trump's win in Wisconsin took him over the finish line past the 270 Electoral College votes required to secure his path to the White House.
Arizona, Michigan, and Nevada remained too close to call, though Trump held leads over Vice President Kamala Harris in each of those states. Two Electoral College votes also remain to be awarded in Maine.
As news of Trump's victory made headlines and trended on social media, horror writer King, who is a frequent critic of the former president, shared a post of his own.
There's a sign you can see in many shops that sell beautiful but fragile items: LOVELY TO LOOK AT, DELIGHTFUL TO HOLD, BUT ONCE YOU BREAK IT, THEN IT'S SOLD.
You can say the same about democracy.
Without directly naming Trump, King wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "There's a sign you can see in many shops that sell beautiful but fragile items: LOVELY TO LOOK AT, DELIGHTFUL TO HOLD, BUT ONCE YOU BREAK IT, THEN IT'S SOLD. You can say the same about democracy."
The post garnered more than 500,000 views in less than two hours. Newsweek has contacted a representative of Trump via email for comment.
In a previous statement to Newsweek, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said that "Stephen King is a dumba**," in response to his criticism of the former star of The Apprentice.
King is an avid social media user, who often utilizes his platform to share his take on various matters and criticize such figures as Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, the majority owner of X who campaigned in support of the former president.
On November 3, King accused Musk of disseminating a sizable amount of "pro-Trump disinformation" on X in recent weeks.
"The Musk-man has posted 3,000 times on Twitter in the last month," King commented. "Most are pro-Trump disinformation and outright lies. Remember, he has skin in the game. Consider his posts accordingly."
In the leadup to the election, King characterized Trump as "dangerous" and a "horrible" person and president. In September, he also suggested that Trump should "drop out" of the race for the White House, in light of President Joe Biden having done so on the Democratic ticket in the summer.
Also in September, King took aim at those placing trust in Trump on economic matters, writing on X: "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."
King is among a host of celebrities who have taken to social media to share their feelings on the election result—both against and in favor of Trump's win.
Meanwhile, Republican Trump addressed his supporters as the results rolled in following Tuesday's hotly contested election.
"This was a movement like nobody's ever seen before, and frankly, this was, I believe, the greatest political movement of all time," he said in Florida. "There's never been anything like this in this country and maybe beyond, and now it's going to reach a new level of importance because we're going to help our country heal."
Trump touted a "political victory that our country has never seen before" and promised the "golden age" of the United States. He described his voter group as "the most unified coalition," touting his gains among Black and Hispanic voters.
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