JK Rowling works her magic after Donald Trump blocks Stephen King on Twitter
Harry Potter author steps in after thriller writer becomes the latest to be #blockedbytrump
JK Rowling has come to the rescue of fellow author Stephen King after Donald Trump reportedly blocked the Carrie author from his Twitter feed.
On Tuesday, King, 69, tweeted he could no longer follow the US President on the social network site.
Trump apparently took action after a tweet about his daughter, Ivanka:
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, no sooner had news of the blocking gone out, than Harry Potter novelist Rowling stepped in and offered to keep King informed of the President's tweets.
King has long been an active critic of Trump. Last September, during a Facebook Live interview with Ron Charles, editor of the Washington Post’s Book World, the author said a Trump presidency "scares me more than anything else".
He added: "I'm terrified that he’ll become president."
Once his fears were realised, King began critiquing and mocking Trump on Twitter.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
After the President accused his predecessor Barack Obama of wiretapping him, the author wrote:
King isn't the only critic Trump has blocked. According to Heavy, he has stopped the likes of progressive military veterans advocacy group @VoteVets and Forbes journalist Rob Szcerba, who took part in the #cofveve memes, from viewing his posts.
Indeed, the President's habit of blacklisting critics is so common that blockees proudly share the hashtag #blockedbytrump.
However, questions have been raised over whether his actions are constitutional or not.
USA Today reports that non-profit group Knight First Amendment Institute has called on Trump to unblock users or face legal action.
It argues that the President's Twitter account "operates as a 'designated public forum' for First Amendment purposes" and accordingly it is unconstitutional to block users for their views.
-
Rothermere’s Telegraph takeover: ‘a right-leaning media powerhouse’Talking Point Deal gives Daily Mail and General Trust more than 50% of circulation in the UK newspaper market
-
The US-Saudi relationship: too big to fail?Talking Point With the Saudis investing $1 trillion into the US, and Trump granting them ‘major non-Nato ally’ status, for now the two countries need each other
-
Sudoku medium: November 30, 2025The daily medium sudoku puzzle from The Week
-
The US-Saudi relationship: too big to fail?Talking Point With the Saudis investing $1 trillion into the US, and Trump granting them ‘major non-Nato ally’ status, for now the two countries need each other
-
Could Trump run for a third term?The Explainer Constitutional amendment limits US presidents to two terms, but Trump diehards claim there is a loophole
-
Trump’s Ukraine peace talks advance amid leaked callSpeed Read Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff is set to visit Russia next week
-
Memo signals Trump review of 233k refugeesSpeed Read The memo also ordered all green card applications for the refugees to be halted
-
Judge tosses Trump DOJ cases against Comey, JamesSpeed Read Both cases could potentially be brought again
-
X’s location update exposes international troll industryIn the Spotlight Social media platform’s new transparency feature reveals ‘scope and geographical breadth’ of accounts spreading misinformation
-
Tariffs: Will Trump’s reversal lower prices?Feature Retailers may not pass on the savings from tariff reductions to consumers
-
Trump: Is he losing control of MAGA?Feature We may be seeing the ‘first meaningful right-wing rebellion against autocracy of this era’