With Social Post Crowning Himself 'King,' Trump Provokes Internet Fury
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump called himself a "king" on his social media platforms. Now, journalists, commentators and academics are sounding the alarm about the second-term president's apparent embrace of monarchy.
Trump initially used the term "king" on his Truth Social platform, in a post about New York City's "congestion pricing" tolls. That policy imposes a toll on drivers entering Manhattan during peak commuting hours as a means of decreasing traffic jams in the United States' largest city. The New York Times reported that Trump intends to revoke federal approval of congestion pricing, though the Metropolitan Transit Authority of New York (MTA) has already announced litigation to keep the policy in place.
"CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD," Trump wrote. "Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!"
"We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king," New York Governor Kathy Hochul wrote when announcing the MTA's intent to sue. "We'll see you in court."
A few minutes later, White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich posted an AI-generated image of Trump wearing a crown and a cloak with the New York City skyline in the background, with Trump's "LONG LIVE THE KING" Truth Social post underneath. And shortly after, the official White House X account reposted the text of Trump's Truth Social post, and added an image of Trump wearing a gold crown and the text "LONG LIVE THE KING" at the bottom. Numerous commenters on social media condemned the president's posts.
"This is revoltingly un-American," Bulwark executive editor Adam Keiper wrote on Bluesky.
Keiper followed up his post by quoting President George Washington, who admonished a Revolutionary War colonel who suggested Washington coronate himself. The first president of the United States wrote: "I must view with abhorrence, and reprehend with severity [the idea]." Harvard Law Cyberlaw Clinic instructor Alejandra Caraballo reminded her followers that the United States was literally founded by "violently rebelling against a king." Political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen lamented the Trump administration's pro-monarchy stance, writing: "They're not even hiding it." And Gizmodo reporter Matt Novak wryly commented that Trump was "not talking about Elvis."
"Donald Trump is openly calling himself a king," wrote YouTube host Keith Edwards. "Any Republican who pretends they don't know where this is going is lying to you."
University of Michigan policy professor Don Moynihan observed that the post came on the same day that Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a "dictator" and falsely accused him of starting the war with Russia despite Russia invading Ukraine in 2022 (eight years after its illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula).
"Every member of the news media needs to ask every Republican, elected or not, if they believe Donald Trump is their king," podcaster Bob Cesca wrote on Bluesky.
Trump's "king" post also comes just a few days after he quoted Napoleon Bonaparte when he wrote: "He who saves his country does not violate any law." Former FBI counterterrorism official Frank Figliuzzi noted that the Napoleon quote was more recently used by far-right neo-Nazi terrorist Anders Breivik, who massacred 78 people in Norway in 2011 after writing a 1,500-page manifesto blaming feminism and diversity for the decline of Europe.
Reprinted with permission from Alternet.
- Does Trump Now Believe That -- Like His Cult -- God Worships Him? ›
- Pop Culture Warned Us About Trump, Part 4: ‘The Dead Zone’ ›
- Trump Is Like King Henry VIII Revived — Without The Charm ›
