Stephen King Has Harsh Words For Governor Christie's Covid-19 Announcement
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is the latest member of President Donald Trump's inner circle to test positive for coronavirus, and some people didn't have the nicest response to the news.
Christie announced his diagnosis on Twitter on Oct. 3, 2020, writing, "I just received word that I am positive for COVID-19. I want to thank all of my friends and colleagues who have reached out to ask how I was feeling in the last day or two. I will be receiving medical attention today and will keep the necessary folks apprised of my condition."
Per CNN, Christie helped Trump prepare for the first presidential debate. Other members of Trump's debate prep team have also contracted the virus, as well as people who attended the president's crowded Rose Garden nomination ceremony on Sept. 25, 2020. Former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, Trump's close aide Hope Hicks, and his campaign manager Bill Stepien have all tested positive. Trump announced his own diagnosis along with first lady Melania Trump's on Oct. 1, 2020.
Shortly after Christie announced the news, famed author Stephen King replied to the tweet with his own scathing version of well wishes. Here's what he said.
Stephen King cursed at Chris Christie on Twitter
In response to former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's tweet about his COVID-19 diagnosis, Stephen King had a harsh reply. He replied to the tweet: "You're a dips**t for not taking precautions, but I wish you well."
While King is most famous for his legendary horror and sci-fi novels, he also has a history of being vocal on Twitter about news and politics. Since President Trump announced his COVID-19 diagnosis, King hasn't held back at all when it comes to sharing his honest thoughts. He commented on the president taking an experimental "antibody cocktail," writing: "850 Americans died of COVID-19 yesterday. None got the special 'antibody cocktail.'"
The next day, more coronavirus cases continued to pop up in Trump's inner circle and reports arose that the Rose Garden event could have been a super-spreader. King tweeted: "Good golly, Trump and his fearless band of goonies spread that sh*t everywhere, didn't they?" He followed that by calling out the "Trump mafia" and saying that he'd "like to knock their stupid, maskless, superspreading heads together." Tell us how you really feel, Stephen King!
Clearly, the author has some very strong feelings about the situation, and he's not the only one.
Stephen King has been tweeting about politics for a while
Even before Donald Trump became president, horror novelist Stephen King was tweeting about politics – and he's criticized plenty of Republicans, not just former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and President Trump. "Cruz, Paul and Rubio, all running for President. Hey, I thought I was supposed to write the horror stories," King tweeted back in April 2015.
However, the Republican party's handling of the coronavirus pandemic is far from the only thing King has had to criticize. In March 2015, King called out Indiana for its Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Multiple states have Religious Freedom Restoration Acts in place; Indiana's was signed into law by then-Governor Mike Pence, long before he was announced as Trump's running mate. The law drew criticism from people who believed it would allow for discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community.
"Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration act is gay discrimination, pure and simple," King wrote on Twitter at the time. "You can frost a dog turd, but it's still a dog turd." The iconic author certainly has a way with words!
Stephen King previously criticized Chris Christie about taxes
In a Daily Beast editorial published in April 2012, horror novelist Stephen King criticized then-New Jersey Governor Chris Christie for his statements about taxes. After Warren Buffet had asked why he was being taxed at a lower percentage than someone with less income, Christie had said on CNN that the billionaire should "just write a check and shut up" if he wanted to pay more in taxes. In response, King argued in his editorial that the burden shouldn't be on higher-income taxpayers to do the work.
King went on to explain that while celebrities like Bill Gates and himself can (and do!) give plenty of donations to charity, that doesn't help fix the national debt. "What charitable 1 percenters can't do is assume responsibility — America's national responsibilities: the care of its sick and its poor, the education of its young, the repair of its failing infrastructure, the repayment of its staggering war debts," King wrote in part. "Charity from the rich can't fix global warming or lower the price of gasoline by one single red penny." What could help fix things though, King continued, is taxing wealthier citizens at a higher rate — something Christie and other Republicans historically don't want to do.
It's clear that King has long disagreed with Christie and his fellow Republicans, with Christie's COVID-19 diagnosis tweet being just the latest of the author's frustrations.