Stephen King’s Donald Trump, Kamala Harris Joke Takes Off Online

Author Stephen King’s joke about supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris peacefully co-existing with supporters of former President Donald Trump has taken off online.
In a Thursday post to X, formerly Twitter, King, an outspoken Democrat and frequent Trump critic, offered his political take a classic joke format involving multiple parties “walking into a bar.” King’s version of the joke poked fun at the increasingly divided and often hostile nature of U.S. partisanship.
“A Trump supporter and a Harris supporter walk into a bar, and have a good conversation,” King wrote.
“It COULD happen,” he added in a follow-up post one minute later.
Newsweek reached out for comment to the Harris and Trump campaigns via email on Thursday.
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung previously told Newsweek in response to one of the author’s many critical posts concerning the former president: “Stephen King is a dumbass.”
Reactions to King’s post on Thursday were mixed, although some prominent figures suggested that the political divide could be peacefully navigated.
“I just had a good conversation with friends in LA about Trump/Kamala,” wrote X owner Elon Musk, who has endorsed Trump.
“This is how life should be lived,” YouTube content creator Scott Manley wrote.
“This is possible,” filmmaker Sandi Bachom wrote. “I have interviewed the MAGAs for eight years and I love what Clinton said and Walz, about they are our neighbors. I always tell them if we don’t talk and listen to each other. It’s just gonna get worse and worse.”
Others described the post from King, who penned classic horror novels like The Shining and Carrie, as another example of “fiction” or put their own political views on full display while accusing the other side of making conversation impossible.
“No such thing as a Harris supporter. Most of those sheep (including you) would vote for a literal bag of rocks if the Democrat elites said to,” pro-Trump influencer Matt Wallace wrote.
“Unfortunately, you can’t do that cause all you do is trash talk us,” wrote @ChewiesMama777, another pro-Trump account.
“Impossible. You can’t reason with a brainwashed, CULT member,” Harris supporter @DenisonBarbs wrote.
Meanwhile, there has been little indication that the candidates themselves have any intention of cooling their attacks on each other with just 75 days to go until Election Day.
Trump has repeatedly referred to Harris, falsely, as a “communist” and recently said that he feels “entitled” to personally attack her because he doesn’t “have a lot of respect for” the vice president. Trump has also questioned the racial identity of Harris, claiming that she “happened to turn Black” for political purposes.
Harris has spent less time personally attacking Trump, although her campaign often mocks the former president on social media. However, the Democratic nominee typically points out her opponent’s criminal and legal history in campaign speeches, particularly that Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts earlier this year and was found civilly liable for sexual assault.