JTA — After coming under criticism for saying he hoped Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner does not drop out of the race amid a new sexual assault allegation, horror novelist Stephen King said Tuesday that Platner should leave the race if he had raped a woman.

On Monday, King, a Maine resident, wrote in a post on X, “Graham Platner may drop out. (I hope he doesn’t, but.) Meanwhile, the Abuser in Chief just keeps on keepin’ on,” appearing to refer to US President Donald Trump.

In a second post that day, King added, “Tell you what — if you knew the whole truth about everyone in the Senate and House of Reps, those chambers would be dead empty. Jesus said, ‘Let him without sin cast the first stone.’”

But as King’s posts drew thousands of replies accusing him of defending sexual assault, the writer followed up in a post on X Tuesday, “Not defending Grah, Platner. If he committed rape, he should bow out. Just making a comparison.”

The writer’s comments come as Platner is facing a flood of calls to resign from Democratic officials and leaders after Politico reported Monday that he had been accused by a former girlfriend of forcing her to have sex with him five years ago.

Platner, who won his Democratic primary in June, has also faced numerous scandals on the campaign trail, including........

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