Novelist Stephen King has created some incredibly memorable villains in his books, but he doesn’t think Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has what it takes to be among them.
As King explained during an appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” the novelist was asked about some of the tweets he’s sent out recently that were highly critical of DeSantis, and he made it clear that while the governor is certainly evil enough with his absurd COVID-19 policies, he doubts that the Floridian has enough brains to carry off any actual evil plans:
“Ron DeSantis is probably not the brightest bulb in the chandelier at the best of times.”
That led Colbert to ask:
“So, not an evil genius? Not a mastermind?”
King responded:
“No, I wouldn’t say so. You know, he’s got that deer-in-the-headlights look somehow.”
Colbert couldn’t resist adding:
“Deer in the headlights hoping that’s two motorcycles that are going to go right by him.”
It should be noted that King — who is a native of Maine — now spends half the year in Sarasota, so he’s had a chance to observe DeSantis up close, and he’s not impressed, firing off tweets making it clear that he thinks the Florida governor is a few cans short of a six pack:
Or, to put it another way, consider what the AV Club had to say about DeSantis not being fit for a King novel. They pretty much hit the proverbial nail on the head:
“So that’s evil, but is it Stephen King evil? Not according to King, who greeted Colbert’s pitch for a future fictional Florida governor villain with the dismissive shrug of a guy who knows what makes a truly compelling antagonist. After all, your best Stephen King monsters (your Greg Stillsons, your Randall Flaggs) couple their nefarious machinations with a complexity of thought and more than a little charisma, whereas, in King’s authorial estimation, Florida is currently being led by a garden variety venal, callous dope, whose threadbare conservative posturing couldn’t sustain even the shortest tale of terror.”
But if you want to think of something truly terrifying, just imagine Ron DeSantis as president. Now THAT’S enough to give you nightmares.
