Horror author Stephen King in 2007 (image via Wikimedia Creative Commons)
When President Donald Trump claimed that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington D.C. was the target of vandals, he got some pushback from author Stephen King. And the King of Horror's criticism of Trump is infuriating MAGA Republicans on social media.
Trump's Reflecting Pool renovation is not going well. A $14 million paint job is peeling off in chunks, and it remains to be seen whether algae can be fully removed.
In a Saturday, June 20 post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, "The United States Park Police have arrested multiple individuals for vandalizing our Nations magnificent Reflecting Pool. Who would do such a thing? These are very serious crimes having to do with the destruction of National Monuments. Years in jail! Work will begin immediately on its repair. President DJT."
That Truth Social post was followed by another later in the day, with Trump writing, "Many additional people have been arrested having to do with the disgraceful Vandalism of our beautiful Reflecting Pool. It hasn't looked or worked like this since 1922, when it was originally built, but even then, it leaked badly, and didn’t work. Ours worked perfectly, including the mirror like finish, perfectly reflecting the two Great Monuments, which it never had before! What these terrible Vandals have done is a true affront to both Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and should be dealt with accordingly. We met with contractors today, will probably be forced to release and drain much of the water in order to do the necessary repairs, but will have them done as quickly as possible."
The 78-year-old King, famous for horror stories that include "Carrie," "The Shining" and "Misery," didn't believe Trump's vandalism claims.
On X, formerly Twitter, King posted, "Nobody is vandalizing the Reflecting Pool, and Trump knows it. This is a visible example of his corruption — a no-bid contract to some crony followed by sky-high cost overruns, and shoddy construction to boot. Classic Trump: I didn't f–– up, it was my enemies."
Trump's defenders didn't like that tweet at all.
X user Fred Almeida posted, "You let Trump live in your mind. You should focus on your writing. these kind of posts from you are too low brow and annoyingly boring. Especially from the man that wrote Gunslinger."
Another X user, Jane Marie, wrote, "Okay. I'm sure you think the Vandalism occurred as a result of something Trump said or did. Everything negative thing that happens, Libs blame on Trump. It’s just a tired narrative. There will soon come a day when Trump won’t be your political scape goat! Then what Mr. King? Who will the Democrat-Socialists blame?"
But King wasn't the only one who criticized Trump's vandalism claims.
The real culprit with the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, conservative MS NOW Joe Scarborough argued on his show "Morning Joe," was shoddy work resulting from a "no-bid contract."