If there's one man who would seem immune to fear, it's Stephen King, the best-selling author and master of horror fiction.
But after more than 50 novels, hundreds of short stories and numerous film adaptations of his voluminous work, the 69-year-old still gets spooked.
The author's personal boogie man is not a supernatural clown or a zombie, as it turns out - it's Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
"A Trump presidency scares me more than anything else," King told Ron Charles, editor of The Washington Post's Book World, during a Facebook Live interview Saturday. "I'm terrified that he'll become president."
King frequently lends his voice - and tweets - to contentious political debates. In recent months, he has also been a vociferous critic of Trump.
In a June interview with Rolling Stone, he discussed Trump as more of a phenomenon than person, calling the real estate executive "the last stand of a sort of American male who feels like women have gotten out of their place and they're letting in all these people that have the wrong skin colors."
He added that Trump's popularity stems from people who desire a world in which there was no question "that the white American was at the top of the pecking order."
During his interview with Charles, King offered a related explanation for Trump's popularity, one that the author appears to understand better than most: fear.
"The key chord to all of this is fear," he said. "We're afraid the government is going to take away our guns, we're afraid that Mexico is going to invade the United States, we're afraid of this, we're afraid of that, we're afraid of taxes, we're afraid of transgender bathrooms - the whole thing."
"As long as people are fearful it's hard to have a rational discussion," he said.
What makes Trump most scary is that he's got a realistic chance of winning the election, the author said.
"I would have laughed three or four months ago, but I think that Trump has a real shot," King told Charles. "I think that Hillary Clinton has been a lackluster candidate, frankly, and there's been a sense of entitlement about her campaign like, 'Ah, it's my turn and I'm running against a buffoon therefore I am already president.'"
King admitted that he's already considered the possibility of moving to Canada to escape a Trump presidency because it "scares me to death." It's not far, he noted, from his home in Bangor, Maine.
Charles asked whether he would write a book about Trump in office.
"No," King replied, "I wrote one called 'The Dead Zone.'"
The Washington Post
Mon Sep 26 2016
![Master of horror fiction Stephen King says 'Trump presidency scares me to death' Master of horror fiction Stephen King says 'Trump presidency scares me to death'](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2016-07/61469157279_DonaldTrump.jpg)
He discussed Trump as more of a phenomenon than person.
AWANI Borneo [16/07/2024] – SUKMA 2024 | Sentiasa berwaspada | Pintu sempadan
AWANI Borneo Selasa, 16 Julai 2024 bersama Fauzi Zin.
- SUKMA 2024 : Nasib acara takraw wanita diketahui Khamis ini.
- Ribut petir diramal di Sabah, Bomba saran penduduk berhati-hati.
- Urusan imigresen di sempadan, Malaysia-Brunei adakan rundingan.
- SUKMA 2024 : Nasib acara takraw wanita diketahui Khamis ini.
- Ribut petir diramal di Sabah, Bomba saran penduduk berhati-hati.
- Urusan imigresen di sempadan, Malaysia-Brunei adakan rundingan.
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Hukuman penjara bapa lakukan serangan seksual ke atas 3 anak perempuan dikurangkan
Dalam penghakimannya, Che Mohd Ruzima berkata perayu gagal membuktikan bahawa Mahkamah Sesyen terkhilaf dalam memutuskan kes itu.
Malaysia-Brunei adakan rundingan mudahkan urusan Imigresen
Malaysia dan Brunei akan mengadakan rundingan bagi memudahkan proses keluar masuk rakyat kedua-dua negara.
![Pan-gon mahu kekal hubungan baik dengan Malaysia Pan-gon mahu kekal hubungan baik dengan Malaysia](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/81721124936_KimPanGon.jpg)
Pan-gon mahu kekal hubungan baik dengan Malaysia
Bekas ketua jurulatih Harimau Malaya Kim Pan-gon mahu mengekalkan hubungan baik dengan skuad itu biarpun tidak lagi bersama.
Kos pampasan tanah fasa 1B proses Projek LPB Sabah RM1.2 bilion - Alexander
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Sentiasa berhati-hati, ribut petir diramal berlaku di Sabah
Orang ramai khususnya yang tinggal di kawasan berisiko di Sabah disaran agar bersiap siaga terutama dari segi perubahan cuaca yang tidak menentu yang seterusnya akan mengakibatkan bencana banjir dan pokok tumbang.
Nasib acara sepak takraw wanita diketahui Khamis ini
Nasib acara sepak takraw wanita berpasukan dalam Sukan Malaysia (SUKMA) edisi ke-21 di Sarawak akan ditentukan dalam Mesyuarat Jawatankuasa SUKMA Peringkat Kebangsaan pada Khamis ini.
JPBM Sabah serah jentera khas buat pasukan sukarela
Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Malaysia (JBPM) negeri Sabah sedang dalam perancangan untuk menyerahkan jentera khas, iaitu Volunter Fire Rescue Tender (VFRT) untuk Pasukan Bomba Sukarela (PBS) di Sabah.
Sarawak akan pertahan pingat sukan Muay Thai edisi lalu
Skuad Sarawak akan berusaha mempertahankan masing-masing dua emas, perak dan gangsa dalam kejohanan SUKMA yang dimenangi dalam edisi lalu.
![Usaha pujuk Pan-gon tidak berhasil - Yusoff Mahadi Usaha pujuk Pan-gon tidak berhasil - Yusoff Mahadi](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/81721124841_TBFAM.jpg)
Usaha pujuk Pan-gon tidak berhasil - Yusoff Mahadi
FAM pernah berusaha memujuk Kim Pan-gon untuk terus mengemudi skuad Harimau Malaya hingga kontraknya tamat secara rasmi pada akhir tahun depan.