Stephen King compares Trump to a ‘senile uncle’ over weird shark rant

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Donald Trump’s rambling anecdote about electric boats and sharks at his recent Las Vegas rally has been likened to “listening to your senile uncle at the dinner table after he has that third drink” by the horror novelist Stephen King. And you’re in the boat and you have this tremendously powerful battery and the battery is now underwater and there’s a shark that’s approximately 10 yards over there?’” At this point, the former president broke off at a tangent, asking: “By the way, a lot of shark attacks lately, do you notice that, a lot of sharks?” Former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on stage at his campaign rally at Sunset Park in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 9 2024 Eventually reverting to his original point, Trump continued: “So I said, so there’s a shark 10 yards away from the boat, 10 yards or here, do I get electrocuted if the boat is sinking? On July 4, 2013, he issued two unforgettable tweets, the first of which read: “Sorry folks, I’m just not a fan of sharks – and don’t worry, they will be around long after we are gone.” Two minutes later, he followed it up with: “Sharks are last on my list – other than perhaps the losers and haters of the world!” The creatures were also on his mind at a Pennsylvania campaign rally in August 2020 at which he scoffed at the idea of protecting the species and confessed to his supporters: “I’m not a big fan of sharks.” More recently, in October 2023, he delivered another version of his electrocution/shark attack hypothetical at an Iowa caucus event, declaring: “So I have a choice of electrocution or shark? It can be no accident, incidentally, that the tagline for that cinematic masterpiece Sharknado 5: Global Swarming, released in the first year of Trump’s presidency, parodied his famous campaign slogan: “Make America Bait Again.”