Stephen King Slams Donald Trump's Court Appearance

Never shy about sharing his opinions online, horror author Stephen King has posted his thoughts about Donald Trump reportedly falling asleep in court on Monday.

It was the first day of Trump's New York criminal trial, with the former president appearing at Manhattan Criminal Court as jury selection commenced. However, journalists reporting on the case said Trump started snoozing shortly after proceedings began.

Trump's purported catnap was quickly highlighted on social media, with a variety of prominent figures weighing in as the hashtags #SleepyDon and #SleepyDonald trended on X, formerly Twitter.

King often takes to social media to share his thoughts on Trump and a variety of political issues. Monday was no different as he also posted about the Republican's court appearance, calling out the former president's behavior.

Newsweek emailed spokespeople for King and Trump for comment Tuesday outside of normal business hours.

"Sleepy Don fell asleep in court," the horror author wrote alongside the "Zzz" emoji, which had received over 667,000 views at the time of writing.

King didn't stop there, as he later posted: "If Trump were a Black man, or a poor white guy, and mouthed off like Trump does, he'd be in Rikers [jail] tonight." At the time of writing, it had been viewed more than 555,000 times.

This post was concerning the fact that Trump has accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office is leading the case against Trump, of targeting him for political purposes, calling the trial a form of election interference. The former president briefly addressed reporters as he left the courthouse on Monday, repeating that the case was a "political witch hunt" against him.

King has previously said that he joined the Democratic Party in 1970 and has been an outspoken critic of the former president since before Trump was elected in 2016.

This isn't the first time that King has shared his opinion on the former president. On Sunday, he criticized comments Trump made about the Battle of Gettysburg during a campaign rally in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.

"Trump: 'Gettysburg! Wow!' What a dimbulb," the critically acclaimed author wrote, with the post going viral with over 694,700 views at the time of writing.

"Gettysburg, what an unbelievable battle that was," Trump said at the rally while wearing a Make America Great Again hat. "It was so much, and so interesting, and so vicious and horrible, and so beautiful in so many different ways—it represented such a big portion of the success of this country.

"Gettysburg, wow—I go to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to look and to watch. And the statement of Robert E. Lee, who's no longer in favor—did you ever notice it? He's no longer in favor. 'Never fight uphill, me boys, never fight uphill.' They were fighting uphill, he said, 'Wow, that was a big mistake,' he lost his big general. 'Never fight uphill, me boys,' but it was too late."

Trump is the first former president in United States history to stand trial in a criminal case. He was indicted in March 2023 on charges of falsifying business records relating to alleged hush-money payments made to former adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. Daniels said she had an affair with Trump in 2006, which he has denied.

Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen paid $130,000 to Daniels to keep her reported affair with the real-estate magnate under wraps. The Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen through monthly installments, which were recorded as payments for ongoing legal services. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

In court on Monday, the former president's lawyer said the defense team didn't believe the case should have been brought to trial during the campaign season. Trump has repeatedly accused prosecutors and judges of attempting to interfere with his 2024 presidential reelection bid by moving forward with his plethora of legal challenges before November.