Horror author Stephen King sparked a social media firestorm Monday night after posting a bizarre rant claiming President Donald Trump “has never had a child”—despite the fact that Trump has five children who are well-known public figures.
The 78-year-old writer shared the head-scratching post to X, launching into a series of criticisms that left even his supporters baffled. King wrote that Trump “has never had a child,” “has been married 3 times,” “ran several businesses into the ground,” and “never ran a home, couldn’t make a bed to save his ****.” He concluded by claiming the president “has no life experience.”
The claim immediately drew mockery from conservatives and Trump family members, who pointed out that the president has five children: Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka, Eric, Tiffany, and Barron. Trump shares his three eldest children with his first wife, the late Ivana Trump, daughter Tiffany with ex-wife Marla Maples, and youngest son Barron with current wife Melania Trump.
Donald Trump Jr., 48, fired back at the bestselling author on X: “Well, this is news to me… unless he means birthed a child which would also hold true for every male ever. TDS is real and it’s scary.”
The conservative account Libs of TikTok responded with equal disbelief: “Trump literally has 5 kids. What is this sh*t?”
Conservative writer Jerry Dunleavy sarcastically quipped, “Donald Trump, famously childless,” while blogger Bonchie asked, “Is there a 25th Amendment for taking peoples’ phones away?”
The embarrassment deepened when Matt Van Swol, a former Department of Energy nuclear scientist, accused King of plagiarism. Van Swol pointed out that King had essentially copied an earlier post originally written about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and simply swapped in Trump’s name. The original post, shared by an account called “Stacy is Right,” had criticized the New York Democrat for not having children, never being married, and never running a business—criticisms that made no sense when applied to the father of five and longtime businessman.
King’s controversial post remains live on his X account as of Wednesday morning, despite the widespread criticism. The author has not issued a retraction or clarification about his false claim regarding Trump’s children. King’s timing proved particularly awkward—his rant landed just as President Trump prepared to deliver the 2026 State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday evening.
This latest incident marks another chapter in King’s contentious relationship with social media and political commentary. The horror writer left X in November 2024, citing the platform’s “toxic” atmosphere following Trump’s reelection victory. He returned in February 2025, announcing his comeback with characteristic bluntness: “I’m baaaack! Did you miss me? Just wanted to say that Trump is a traitorous, Putin-loving ****! Goes double for Elon!”
In April 2025, King accused Trump of “ruining the economy with his stupid tariffs.” Earlier in 2026, he compared U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to Nazi Germany’s secret police, writing on X: “ICE is the American Gestapo.”
King’s pattern of inflammatory posts has led to previous retractions. In September 2025, just days after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated at age 31 while speaking at Utah Valley University, King falsely claimed Kirk had “advocated stoning gays to death.” The backlash forced King to delete the post and issue a public apology, admitting he had posted without fact-checking.
The incident highlights the ongoing tension between Hollywood liberals and the Trump administration. While King has built a legendary career crafting horror fiction—with classics like “The Shining,” “It,” and “Carrie”—his recent foray into political commentary has repeatedly backfired, drawing criticism for factual errors and inflammatory rhetoric.
Trump’s five children have all maintained high public profiles throughout their father’s political career. Donald Jr. and Eric run the Trump Organization, while Ivanka served as a White House advisor during Trump’s first term. Eric’s wife, Lara Trump, has emerged as a prominent political figure in her own right—she served as co-chair of the Republican National Committee during the 2024 campaign and now hosts “My View with Lara Trump” on Fox News. Tiffany Trump has maintained a lower profile, while Barron Trump, now 19, attends New York University’s Stern School of Business and lives at the White House while studying at the school’s Washington campus.
The Daily Mail reported that it reached out to King for comment on the controversy, but the author had not responded as of publication time.
The bizarre episode has reignited debates about celebrity political commentary and the spread of misinformation on social media platforms. Critics argue that King’s massive following of devoted readers makes his false claims particularly damaging, as they can quickly spread to millions of users before corrections catch up.
As the controversy continues to unfold online, the incident serves as a reminder that even acclaimed authors can stumble when venturing beyond their area of expertise—especially when basic facts about the president’s family are easily verifiable with a simple internet search.