Author Stephen King: Image via Creative Commons License.
Author Stephen King knows a lot about horror stories and he thinks the one Americans have been living in under President Donald Trump will take decades to "heal" from.
"It will be at least 40 years before our loved and lovely America recovers from the wounds this selfish, stupid, and ego-driven man has inflicted. That it will recover seems certain to me, but it will leave scars," said King on X.
Physician Nicolas Rivers commented that sometimes scars heal stronger than the skin itself.
King's estimations are more conservative than others who fear that it could take a generation or more, particularly for families making under $100,000 annually.
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich wrote last year that much of it hinges on what happens in the 2026 midterms and in the 2028 elections. If there is no oversight and check on Trump's power by Congress, then it could take even longer to recover.
"We’ll recover quickly; all we need is one good president and a competent Congress," he promised.
"Although we’re practical and resilient, Trump and his sycophants have done so much damage to the institutional and moral fabric of the nation that I don’t think we can expect to be back — even back to where we were before Trump first came to power — for at least a decade," he conceded.
"We will recover," Reich promised, "but that will require several terms of a good president and majorities in Congress who understand the importance of both rebuilding and reforming democratic institutions and making the economy work for all instead of a few at the top. This is doable; we’ve achieved these sorts of positive changes and reforms before. But we need to be steadfast and patient."
At least one of Trump's promises over a timeline was off by quite a bit. Speaking to the press in May, Trump bragged that his "American Flag Blue" coating on the Reflecting Pool would last for decades, the Huffington Post recalled.
“This will last for at least 50 years, you’ll never have a leak. It’s very strong,” Trump said on May 4 about his project. “You couldn’t, if you had a knife. I don’t want to give anybody ideas. If you had a knife, you can’t even cut it. So strong, so powerful. It’s like powerful rubber.”
It took a weekend before cracks emerged, and chunks of the "rubber" paint began peeling.