Horror author Stephen King appeared incredulous at the thought that former President Donald Trump allegedly called Vice President Kamala Harris a “b****.”
While usually a vocal Trump critic, King took to X, formerly Twitter, in the hopes that someone could credibly deny that the Republican presidential nominee had used the word in reference to his Democratic opponent.
“Did Trump actually call Kamala Harris a b****? Please tell me that that, at least, isn’t true,” King wrote in a post that has been viewed more than 5 million times.
A user responded to his post, “I hope he did!” King then reposted that comment, adding, “Apparently, he did.”
The author’s question stemmed from a New York Times article published on August 10. The report, under the headline “Inside the Worst Three Weeks of Donald Trump’s 2024 Campaign,” said Trump had been in a bad mood and referred to Harris using the derogatory term.
“Indeed, Mr. Trump has often been in a foul mood the past few weeks,” the article said.
“He has ranted about Ms. Harris. He has called her ‘nasty,’ on ‘Fox & Friends,’ and a ‘b****,’ repeatedly, in private, according to two people who heard the remark on different occasions,” it continued.
The Trump campaign denied the claim, and spokesperson Steven Cheung is quoted in the report saying, “That is not language President Trump has used to describe Kamala, and it’s not how the campaign would characterize her.”
Scott Eisen/Getty Images, Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images, Win McNamee/Getty Images
X users reacted to King’s post to support or denounce Trump’s alleged remarks, with one writing, “He can call her anything he wants, as long as in November, he calls her President Harris.”
“Of course Trump called Kamala Harris a b****. — A bully is always a coward. Donald is the epitome of a bully,” another added.
A commenter said: “You people have called him Hitler, a rapist, an extremist, she helped get him arrested, lies about him daily, etc. She is a b****. Go cry.”
“How would he be wrong if he did?” a user wrote. “Kamala crashed our economy and abandoned our border. What would you call a person who does that?”
Trump and Harris are set to face off in November’s presidential election, and a recent poll predicted the Electoral College vote totals would favor Harris over Trump.
The Economist‘s national forecast model, which was published on Friday, found that Harris and Trump had about a 1 in 2 chance of winning the Electoral College.
The Electoral College is a system that awards each state a certain number of votes based on population. A candidate needs to secure 270 electoral votes for victory, as winning the national popular vote does not guarantee the White House.
The election forecast shows that the median likely range of total electoral votes for Harris is at 272, while Trump’s is at 266.
