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Stephen King has shared a theory about how US president Donald Trump’s time in office will be remembered in history.
The prolific author, who is an outspoken critic of Trump and recently called his presidency a “horror story”, believes that in 30 years time, people will be denying ever voting for him.
“There’s a story about the home run that was heard around the world,” King told the paper, referencing baseball player Bobby Thomson’s iconic 1951 home run, which won the National League pennant for the New York Giants.
“There are … 10s of thousands of people who will say, ‘I saw [Thomson] hit that home run,’ and there were only, like, 5,000 people in the stands that day,” explained King. “So I think the opposite is true [with Trump]. Twenty or 30 years down the line, when I’ll be dead and you’ll be old, I think a lot of people are going to say, ‘Well, I never voted for Trump.’”
Asked whether he considers how many of his readers are Trump supporters, King replied: “I’m aware of it. There’s never been, you know, an organised boycott.”
He continued: “I feel I have an obligation to say what I think and be clear about it. It’s a question, like the song says, ‘Which side are you on?’”
King’s 1979 book The Dead Zone is often regarded as ahead of its time, with its protagonist, Bible salesman-turned-politician Greg Stillson, holding eye-catching rallies until a clairvoyant sees that he will be president one day.
The book has seen King credited with predicting Trump’s presidency, but the author said he is not sure that any book could have done this.
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“If I wrote this in a book in 1965 … if it got published at all, it would be published as an allegory, like Animal Farm,” he said.
He further claimed: “Nobody would have believed where we are today, with Gestapo agents in the street – they call themselves ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement], but they’re basically guys that are armed, they are wearing masks, they have huge amounts of money to spend and they are everywhere.” The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
Asked in a reader interview in The Guardian what he would write if he had to invent an ending for Trumpian America, King replied: “I think it would be impeachment – which, in my view, would be a good ending. I would love to see him retired, let’s put it that way. The bad ending would be that he gets a third term and takes things over completely.”
He added: “It’s a horror story either way. Trump is a horror story, isn’t he?”
The author is considered an expert on the genre, having written hugely successful novels including Carrie (1974), The Shining (1977), and It (1986). All three titles are among the several King books to have been adapted for the screen.
His novel,The Life of Chuck, has recently been made into a film starring Tom Hiddleston, while two adaptations will arrive in the next three months: The Long Walk, by The Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence and The Running Man, an Edgar Wright film starring Glen Powell.
