Liberal author Stephen King thinks Donald Trump and JD Vance ganged up on Ukraine’s president to distract from anger over Elon Musk’s spending cuts.
‘Trump and Vance threw Zelenskyy under the bus because people are angry about Musk’s crazy cutting spree, and Trump kissing Putin’s ass,’ King wrote on X.
‘Tossed the base some red meat (I’m looking at you, Lindsey Graham). Old pro wrestling trick. Fire up the crowd.’
King shared his theory Saturday, the day after President Trump and Vice President Vance clashed spectacularly with Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House over US defense spending on Ukraine.
Senator Lindsey Graham has long been one of the Republican party’s staunchest defenders of Zelensky and Ukraine.
But even he blasted Zelensky after the showdown and suggested he quit as leader of the war-torn nation.
King’s post has been shared 2.3 million times as of Monday morning.
He’s garnered 12,000 reposts, 87,000 likes and 8,200 replies to his comment.
The author, famed for his anti-Trump politics, returned to X, formerly Twitter, last month after flouncing off the platform when Elon Musk bought it.
Author Stephen King has likened Donald Trump and JD Vance’s showdown with Volodymyr Zelensky to a staged wrestling tournament
King suggested Friday’s Oval Office clash was designed to distract voters from anger over Elon Musk’s brutal federal spending cuts and to please Vladimir Putin
King moved to liberal social media platform BlueSky, but appears to have been upset by the lack of attention his posts received there.
Many of the replies to King’s post supported the author, although others called him out and said they backed Trump and Vance.
One poster replied: ‘the game’s always the same—feed the anger, distract with chaos, while the real players keep their hands clean. truth’s buried in the noise, and we’re left fighting shadows.’
Another said: ‘Stephen just coming back to cook them is just beautiful.’
And a third wrote: ‘Zelenskyy is a war hero, a legend. I’m still kinda shocked that they did that to him. They don’t even understand the fact that a war hero can’t wear those ridiculous suits while he is at war, defending his country with his people.’
But there was plenty of dissent too.
One female poster replied: ‘Why should America keep footing the bill for Europe’s defense when they won’t stand up to Russia themselves?’
Another wrote: ‘Awful take.’
And a third shot down King’s theory, writing: ‘This post makes no sense.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance are seen arguing in the Oval Office on Friday
‘Those upset by the cuts and those welcoming red meat are different sets of people. The red meat brigade are delighted by Trump’s performance so far.’
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) claims to have saved taxpayers $65 billion dollars by eliminating federal waste and firing thousands of workers.
But there have been blunders, including 300 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientists given the boot who were promptly asked to return to help protect the US against a bird flu epidemic.
Zelensky flew to Washington DC amid peace talks between the US, Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Trump had asked for half Ukraine’s valuable underground minerals in return for continued US assistance.
But tensions between Zelensky, Trump and Vance exploded in full view of TV cameras Friday when Zelensky suggested the US will feel the impact of Putin’s invasion ‘in the future.’
The two leaders began shouting, with Trump accusing Zelensky of ‘gambling with World War Three’.
Vance then asked why Zelensky hadn’t thanked either of them for continued military support of Ukraine and slammed Zelensky for campaigning for Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign last year.
After the argument, Zelensky was kicked out of the White House and peace talks have been suspended.
