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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Jacob Stolworthy

Stephen King takes on ‘ridiculous’ Elon Musk in ‘last tweets’ before US election day

Stephen King has given his final word on the 2024 US election in his “last tweet” on the subject.

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s months of chaotic campaigning have officially come to an end with the arrival of election day, which will result in a brand new president.

While some stars have remained controversially tight-lipped about who they’re voting for, many celebrities have shared their endorsements for both candidates, with a flurry of people, including Harrison Ford, Jennifer Aniston and, in a surprising move, Arnold Schwarzenegger, speaking out in favour of Harris in the last few weeks.

One person who has been fervent in their support of Harris is Stephen King, author of Misery and The Shining, who has now posted what he has said will be his final word on the subject – and he’s hit out at Elon Musk in the process.

Tesla founder and X/Twitter owner Musk is a Trump supporter, who has spoken (and jumped) at several of his recent rallies and was recently shut down by Cardi B after he called the rapper “a puppet”.

The day before the election, Musk shared a video of Harris supporting “mandatory gun confiscation” with the caption: “She wants to break the Constitution.”

King replied: “That’s ridiculous. As usual,” and followed up his post with: “Last tweet from me (probably not from the Musk-Man) before Election Day: IF YOU LOVE DEMOCRACY, PLEASE VOTE FOR KAMALA HARRIS.”

Stephen King is a fervent supporter of Kamala Harris (Getty Images)

Earlier in the day, King wrote: “The Musk-man has posted 3,000 times on Twitter in the last month. Most are pro-Trump disinformation and outright lies. Remember, he has skin in the game. Consider his posts accordingly.”

The Carrie and 'Salem's Lot writer has made no secret of his dislike of both Trump and Musk. In 2022, King called Trump a “horrible person” and, in September 2024, questioned Musk’s support for the presidential candidate.

According to King, Trump is “far too bright to swallow this man’s bulls**t”.

Stephen King shares ‘last message’ about US election (X/Twitter)

His comments came months after King was “trolled” by Musk after X/Twitter introduced a new policy that wiped all pre-existing blue ticks on verified accounts and would now only be given to those who subscribed to the site.

However, author King, who had been a vocal critic of Musk’s plan to remove free verification status, was confused to see he still had a blue tick as of Thursday evening.

The author tweeted: “My Twitter account says I’ve subscribed to Twitter Blue. I haven’t. My Twitter account says I’ve given a phone number. I haven’t.” In response to King, Musk wrote: “You’re welcome namaste.”

Elon Musk (Getty Images)

Follow along with all the live updates from the US election here.

In the hours before election day arrived, Harris was joined by Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey, Ricky Martin and The Roots, while Trump, surrounded by his family, revealed he had been endorsed by podcaster Joe Rogan, and was joined on stage by Megyn Kelly.

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