Stephen King using a Republican's words against Donald Trump gets Internet riled up

WASHINGTON, DC: Stephen King took the Internet by storm on Saturday, September 21, after he shared a post with former House Speaker Paul Ryan's declaration that he will not vote for Donald Trump in the upcoming election.

The 'Carrie' author has been a vocal critic of the GOP nominee and has previously labeled him "dangerous" and a "horrible" person and president, according to Newsweek.

Stephen King highlights former House Speaker Paul Ryan's stance on Donald Trump

In the X (formerly Twitter) post, Stephen King wrote, "Republican Paul Ryan, former Speaker of the House, says he won't be voting for Donald Trump. 'Character means too much to me.'" As of Sunday morning, the post had garnered over 257,000 views, 8,300 likes, and 1,200 reposts.

Ryan, who served as the speaker of the House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019, has had a complicated relationship with Trump, despite their initial collaboration during the early years of the MAGA spearhead's presidency.

He has been outspoken about the need for the Republican Party to move away from Trump as the 2024 election approaches.

Earlier this year, during a discussion at the Milken Institute Global Conference, Ryan stated he would be writing in a Republican candidate instead of voting for Trump in November. He emphasized, "Character is too important for me. [The presidency] is a job that requires the kind of character [Trump] doesn’t have."

Donald Trump branded Paul Ryan a 'RINO' over criticisms

The tension between Donald Trump and Paul Ryan escalated after the January 6, 2021, Capitol Hill riot, with the former speaker criticizing party members who "didn't have the guts to impeach Trump."

In response, the GOP nominee labeled Ryan a "RINO," or Republican In Name Only, for opposing him. Ryan, reflecting on his political stance, noted that while he might be seen as a "RINO" today, he considers himself conservative on key issues.

He remarked, "Back in my day a 'RINO' was somebody who was more moderate versus conservative. I'm a conservative. Today, a RINO is how much fealty you pledge to Donald Trump. I'm very low on that."

King's post comes as part of his ongoing critique of Trump. Following the ABC News presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Trump, the bestselling author referred to the former president as "barking mad" in an X post. 

In another post, he wrote, "Politics aside, America saw a man who has no business being near the levers of power.Simply put, he's crazy."

Internet reacts to Stephen King using Paul Ryan's words against Donald Trump

Stephen King's post on Paul Ryan's remarks about Donald Trump quickly went viral, with netizens sharing their thoughts on their clash. 

One wrote, "Interesting how you support Cheney, Ryan and the others as long as they hate Trump. You’re pathetic dude." Another said, "We didn’t want him, y’all can have him."

"He’s going to write in a different republican, so basically a vote for tRump," expressed a person. An individual stated, "Yeah, thanks Paul, way to man up when it doesn't matter."

"But Paul Ryan also has no character as he is unwilling to defend democracy by voting for Harris. He helps trump by writing in someone," opined one more. 

Another person shared, "Not exactly Profiles in Courage. He does not endorse Harris. He does not point out the obvious unfitness of Trump. Still trying to straddle the fence. He held a position of power when his country needed him, and he did nothing. Worse than nothing."

One more simply wrote, "Nobody cares he's a Democrat." 

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.