(AFP) – Pop superstar Madonna has reignited her campaign against President Donald Trump, upbraiding the US leader for calling himself “the King.” Horror author Stephen King also laid into Trump on Friday in his return to the X platform, calling the president “traitorous” over his dealings with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump has issued a wave of executive orders and started contacts with Putin since taking office on January 20. He declared “LONG LIVE THE KING” to end a social media message on Wednesday stating that he had killed off a New York plan to impose a peak congestion charge of $9 for cars entering much of Manhattan. The White House reposted the message on its social media with an illustration showing Trump wearing a diamond-studded crown.
“I thought this country was built by Europeans, escaping living under the rule of a King, to establish a New World governed by the people,” Madonna, widely known as “The Queen of Pop,” said late Thursday on the X platform. “Currently we have a president who calls Himself Our King. If this is a joke, I’m not laughing,” added the 66-year-old singer.
Madonna criticized Trump during his first term as president and took part in a demonstration by Trump opponents after his January 20 inauguration. She has highlighted attacks on LGBTQ rights by the new administration. Opponents frequently criticize Trump for adopting a regal tone. He said in his inaugural address that he was “saved by God to make America great again,” after surviving an assassination attempt in July.
The Republican leader campaigned against New York’s congestion charge, the first in the United States, during his presidential campaign. The US Department of Transportation directed New York authorities this week to halt the charge. New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said lawyers have initiated court action to halt the federal order.
But Trump triumphantly said on his Truth Social platform that “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!” King, one of the world’s best-selling authors and a prolific social media user, left the X platform of Trump ally Elon Musk three months ago saying it had become “too toxic” following Trump’s election victory.
“I’m baaaaack! Did you miss me?” he said in a post Friday. “I did tbh (to be honest),” Musk responded in a post. “Just wanted to say that Trump is a traitorous, Putin-loving dipshit! Goes double for Elon!” added King, a longtime critic of the president and Musk.
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