Madonna has shared her unimpressed response to US president Donald Trump declaring himself “king”.
The pop icon, who has made her feelings about Trump clear over the years, was reacting to a controversial post from the official White House X account on Wednesday (19 February).
Sharing a fake Time magazine cover that altered the title to show Trump’s name, the caption read “long live the king” alongside an image of Trump smiling while wearing a crown.
The post was shared after Trump’s administration ordered New York to end congestion pricing, put in place to raise funds for Manhattan’s mass transit system.
“CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD,” Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier that day. “Manhattan and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”
The White House’s deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich also shared an AI-generated image of the president wearing a crown and cape.
“I thought this country was built by Europeans, escaping living under the rule of a King, to establish a New World governed by the people,” Madonna wrote.
“Currently we have a president who calls [himself] our King… If this is a joke, I’m not laughing.”
I thought this country was built by
— Madonna (@Madonna) February 21, 2025
Europeans, escaping living under the rule of a King, to establish a New World governed by the people.
Currently we have a president who calls Himself.
Our King
If this is a joke,
I'm not laughing pic.twitter.com/SKblEYiRo1
Horror author Stephen King, another prominent Trump critic, appeared to agree with her, writing on X: “Just wanted to say that Trump is a traitorous, Putin-loving dips***!”
Trump’s latest stunt comes after he appeared to quote a phrase attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte by way of the 1970 film Waterloo, writing on X: “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.”
This message was also shared by the official White House account, endorsing Trump’s apparent belief that the US president is incapable of breaking any law.
The New York Times’s Jamelle Bouie called his statement “the single most un-American and anti-constitutional statement ever uttered by an American president.”
“We're getting into real Führerprinzip territory here,” added conservative Trump critic Bill Kristol, referencing executive authority under Nazi Germany that granted the word of the führer above all written law.
On Fox & Friends, Trump’s favourite morning show, presenters celebrated his claim as they said he was merely “making fun” of Democrats”.
More celebrities responded to the White House’s “king” post on Instagram, with director and choreographer Christopher Rice-Thompson remarking: “We are the laughing stock of the entire world.”
TikTok star Lexi Hidalgo, a yoga instructor, podcaster and influencer, commented: “Genuinely what is going on this is horrifying.”
Pop singer Charlotte Lawrence simply replied with a series of vomiting emojis.
On Tuesday, Trump issued an executive order to consolidate power by assuming regulatory control of independent agencies created by Congress, which are no longer allowed to disagree with him.
New York governor Kathy Hochul has hit back at his congestion pricing order, writing on X: “Donald Trump isn't a ‘king’ and we won't let him use New Yorkers as roadkill on his revenge tour. We’ll see him in court.”
Last month, Madonna hit out at Trump’s administration for “dismantling all the freedoms” of LGBT+ people, after he signed a series of executive orders targeting transgender, nonbinary and intersex Americans within his first few days in office.
“It’s so sad to watch our new government slowly dismantling all the freedoms we have been fighting for and WON over the years,” Madonna wrote, adding a rainbow flag and a broken-hearted emoji.
“Don’t give up the fight!” she added.
