Donald Trump faces major backlash as he calls himself ‘king’ after making long-awaited change

Donald Trump has faced major backlash after calling himself 'king' following a long-awaited change he rolled out this week.

The 78-year-old Republican leader took to his social media platform, Truth Social, on Wednesday (19 February) to share an extremely controversial statement.

His post came after a letter was issued by his Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, to the New York Governor, Kathy Hochul, that put an end to the transportation department’s agreement with New York over a new congestion pricing program for Manhattan.

"CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!" Trump wrote.

Following the president's statement, the official White House X account shared the quote along with a computer-generated image of Trump smiling ear to ear on a fake Time magazine cover wearing a golden crown with the skyline of the Big Apple behind him.

The words 'LONG LIVE THE KING' could be seen on the bottom left-hand corner of the fake magazine cover.

Hochul has since taken to X to share a statement on the matter with the caption: "We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king."

The statement in question read: "Public transit is the lifeblood of New York City and critical to our economic future - as a New Yorker, like President Trump, knows very well."

She continued: "Since this first-in-the-nation program took effect last month congestion has dropped dramatically and commuters are getting to work faster than ever.

"Broadway shows are selling out and foot traffic to local businesses is spiking. School buses are getting kids to class on time, and yellow cab trips increased by 10 percent.

"Transit ridership is up, drivers are having a better experience, and support for this program is growing every day."

Rounding off the statement, Hochul concluded: "We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king. The MTA has initiated legal proceedings in the Southern District of New York to preserve this critical program.

"We'll see you in court."

We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king. pic.twitter.com/PikwB5OwnM

— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) February 19, 2025

And, when speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Hochul said: "New York hasn’t laboured under a king in over 250 years. We sure as hell are not going to start now…

"In case you don’t know New Yorkers, we’re going to fight. We do not back down, not now, not ever."

Illinois’ Democratic Governor, JB Pritzker, also hit out on X: "As Governor of Illinois, my oath is to the Constitution of our state and our nation.

"We don’t have kings in America, and I won’t bend the knee to one."

And David Hogg, vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee, added: "Republicans: Stop overreacting and calling Trump a king

"Literally the White House twitter account," sharing a photo of the fake Time magazine cover.