Stephen King calls Donald Trump a 'horrible president,' 'horrible person'

Stephen King took aim at Donald Trump amid the ongoing FBI investigation into allegations that the former president illegally removed classified documents from the White House, calling him a "horrible president" and a "horrible person."

The bureau conducted an unprecedented search of his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida, on Aug. 8.

King, 74, told The Times Sunday, "I think he actually engaged in criminal behavior and, certainly, I felt that he was a sociopath who tried to overturn the American democracy not out of any political wish of his own but because he could not admit that he had lost."

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The "Carrie" author, who is active on social media, called it a "poison pill" that "has magnified the idea that the election was stolen from Donald Trump. And there’s millions of people who believe that, and there are millions of people who believe that the COVID vaccinations are terrible things."

He did, however, note that social media plays an important role in getting people to organize in protests.

Speaking of politics on the right side of the spectrum, the best-selling author expressed worry about a future of fascism.

"There is a strong right wing, a political right wing in America, and they have a megaphone in some of the media," King said. "They’re not fascists but they’re hard right-wingers. They’re certainly climate change deniers, so that is a real problem."

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King has criticized Trump publicly during and post-presidency.

In 2019, "The Shining" author slammed the then-president in a scathing tweet after he announced that border agents would begin raids in some American cities to remove people who are in the United States illegally.

"First, you stoke hatred and fear of minorities," wrote King. "Then you round them up and put them in camps.

"Next, you send out raiding parties to get those who have been driven into hiding," he continued. "The armbands come next right?"

Although King did not elaborate on the type of armband he was referring to, the most notable instance of this type of government marker forcing people were the Nazis, who forced Jewish people to wear badges during the Holocaust.

Contributing: Kevin Johnson, David Jackson, Erin Jensen

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Stephen King calls Donald Trump a 'horrible president,' 'criminal'