Iconic horror author Stephen King has opened up the presidency of US head honcho Donald Trump, claiming that the concept is scarier than any of his own own works.

By now, saying that Donald Trump is a bit of a controversial US president is rather like saying that Stephen King has a thing for writing. Both of them are so known for such occupations that it’s hard to think of them as anything else these days.

However, it’s worth noting that once upon a time, Donald Trump wasn’t quite the contentious president he is now, and in fact he was simply a notable real estate mogul whose very existence provided pop culture with numerous punchlines and references from time to time.

In a new video interview with NowThis, Stephen King has opened up about Trump’s role in the top job, likening the concept to one of his most early novels, and calling it “scarier” than anything he has written.

Listen to Stephen King discussing Donald Trump:

After being asked if a Donald Trump presidency was scarier than his novels, Stephen King simply summed it up by responding in the positive.

Before long, the author opened up about the parallels between real life and his 1979 novel The Dead Zone, which touches upon Greg Stillson, a “real estate con man who became a political demagogue” and ends up running for president.

“I was sort of convinced that it was possible that a politician would arise who was so outside the mainstream and so willing to say anything that he would capture the imaginations of the American people,” King explained.

While the Stillson character as at first taken as a joke, perceptions quickly change and his supporter base grows at an exponential rate. However, King explains that this was effectively his way of illustrating his fears that such an event could one day happen.

“My worry at the time that I wrote The Dead Zone was that somebody like Greg Stillson might actually get elected and rise through the ranks, become president of the United States and start World War III,” King explained.

“I know that American voters have always had a real attraction to outsiders with the same kind of right-wing ‘America First’ policy. And if that reminds people of Trump, I can’t be sorry because it was a character that I wrote.

“It was a boogeyman of mine, and I never wanted to see him actually on the American political scene, but we do seem to have a Greg Stillson as president of the United States.”

Check out a trailer for The Dead Zone:

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