The clash between conservative commentator Matt Walsh and horror novelist Stephen King on X has taken a curious turn — one that, ironically, has King inching closer to acknowledging what many on the right have been saying for years.
It began with King’s predictable knee-jerk reaction to the Minneapolis Catholic school shooting. He dismissed the shooter’s transgender identity as “beside the point,” insisting that the real culprit was the firearm. Walsh pushed back, pointing out the obvious: guns do not walk themselves into churches and fire into crowds of children. People do. And the motivations, ideologies, and mental health of those people matter.
Yes, but you’re sane. https://t.co/X303DNgECr
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) August 28, 2025
As the spat dragged on, King started shading toward the truth. In so many words, he acknowledged that untreated mental illness lies at the heart of tragedies like this one. And that is where the discussion takes a turn — because if King truly accepts that, then the narrative that guns are the only problem collapses.
https://t.co/Bm8TLE0xtY pic.twitter.com/tAmb3Ia830
— Jonathan Clemens (@Jonatha22466611) August 29, 2025
The shooter, Robin Westman, left behind a manifesto steeped in self-loathing and despair, admitting he was “tired of being trans” and regretted ever “brainwashing” himself. His writings describe feelings of alienation, rage, and identity collapse. This was not simply a man with access to a weapon. This was a deeply disturbed individual unraveling under the weight of gender dysphoria, likely compounded by the chemical haze of puberty blockers and antidepressants.
☺️ yes, you’re right! The issue is mental health! Thank you! https://t.co/GGGL1LaW9R pic.twitter.com/Vi1cAScORl
— Christian Gentry (@ChristianG18727) August 29, 2025
That’s the uncomfortable truth the left doesn’t want to say out loud: gender dysphoria is a mental illness. It’s classified as such, and the attempt to normalize it by rebranding it as identity rather than disorder has left countless vulnerable people untreated. Instead of receiving therapy, they are prescribed powerful hormones and mood-altering drugs — interventions that can destabilize a fragile mind even further.
Stephen King saying the quiet part put loud is hilarious. Yes Stephen, with this logic, that means the troons are insane. https://t.co/AOe2gwsXyq
— Kiryu (@MegaSwampert419) August 29, 2025
When King rails about guns but circles back to mental health, he’s on the verge of conceding the obvious: the real danger isn’t just steel and gunpowder. It’s what happens when a disoriented, chemically altered young adult in the throes of psychological collapse is told his suffering is “affirmation” rather than illness. That’s a recipe for tragedy.
