Has Donald Trump publicly used the word "king" to describe himself in speeches or tweets?

1. The clearest instance: “LONG LIVE THE KING!” on Truth Social

News organizations including The Guardian, People, Rolling Stone and regional outlets quote a Truth Social post in which Trump wrote, after the Department of Transportation moved to block congestion pricing, “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!” — an explicit self‑referential use of the word “king” ^{[1] [2] [3] [6]}.

2. The White House amplified the king motif with imagery

After that post, the White House’s accounts and aides circulated AI‑generated or mock magazine covers showing Trump wearing a crown and the phrase “LONG LIVE THE KING,” which outlets reported as a coordinated visual reinforcement of the self‑labeling ^{[2] [3] [7]}. The Independent and Rolling Stone cite White House posts and aides sharing crown imagery following the February remarks ^{[3] [7]}.

3. More than one outlet, consistent reporting on the February event

Mainstream outlets across U.S. and international press — The Guardian, People, Rolling Stone, CNBC TV18, The Independent and ABC7 New York — documented the same Truth Social line and the backlash it prompted from New York officials and members of Congress, showing cross‑publication corroboration of the statement ^{[1] [2] [3] [8] [9] [6]}.

4. Context: where and why he used the word

Reporting places the line in immediate context: it followed the administration’s action to rescind approval for Manhattan congestion pricing, a policy decision that prompted the post. Coverage frames the “king” phrase as celebratory commentary tied to that policy move and not merely a standalone nickname ^{[1] [3] [2]}.

5. Subsequent use and visual repetition: AI memes and videos

Later in 2025, outlets reported that Trump posted or reshared AI imagery and a 19‑second AI‑generated video showing him as a crowned “King Trump” flying a jet labeled “King Trump” and dumping brown liquid on protesters; news coverage explicitly links that imagery to the “No Kings” protests and to the earlier king language ^{[5] [4] [10] [11]}. Those posts are visual depictions rather than new textual self‑descriptions, but they echo and amplify the king framing ^{[5] [4]}.

6. Pushback and political reaction documented by press

Governors, members of Congress and other public figures publicly rebuked the phrasing and the imagery; New York Governor Kathy Hochul said “We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king,” and other officials condemned the remarks, which outlets reported alongside the original post ^{[1] [2] [6]}.

7. Disinformation caveat: fake posts exist but are distinct

Reporting also shows fraudulent or AI‑fabricated social posts circulating around the “No Kings” protests — including fake tweets and screenshots — and at least one outlet flagged false attributions (Gizmodo on a fake tweet). That means while the February Truth Social post and later AI videos are reported by multiple outlets, social‑media screenshots should be treated with caution and cross‑checked ^{[12] [4]}.

8. Competing interpretations in coverage

Some outlets present the February line as a provocative, self‑aggrandizing remark signaling authoritarian tendencies (Rolling Stone, The Independent), while reporting also records Republican allies mocking or leaning into the “king” image as political theater ^{[3] [13]}. Coverage therefore splits between seeing the phrase as literal self‑claim versus political posturing amplified by memes ^{[3] [13]}.

9. What the available sources do not mention

Available sources do not mention Trump using the exact word “king” in a formal speech transcript on the White House podium or in a major campaign speech beyond the cited Truth Social post and the later interviews/remarks about protesters; coverage focuses on the social‑media post and AI imagery as the primary public uses (not found in current reporting). If you need a line‑by‑line speech corpus search, those results are not in the provided reporting.

Conclusion: Multiple reputable outlets document that Donald Trump publicly used the word “king” to describe himself on Truth Social in February 2025 and then amplified that motif through White House imagery and later AI posts; independent fake posts also circulated around the same themes, so contemporaneous screenshots and short videos should be cross‑verified ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [12]}.