Mad King Orange

Once upon a time there was a King. Many in the kingdom believed him to be illegitimate, usurping the throne from the woman who should have rightfully inherited it. The king had a thin, golden mop of hair. It was as if a small furry creature had died on top of his head. His skin was also a strange, inexplicable shade of orange.  

Those who dared challenge him publicly put themselves in grave danger. It was dangerous times for the press especially, or as he called it, the “Enemy of the People.” Reporters had gone underground and had secret addresses, or required extra protection. Some had received death threats from his staunchest supporters. 

Every time the king spoke, his mop got wispier and wispier, just a little bit at a time. At first, it was hard to notice. But as the subjects caught on to his lies, the change became more noticeable, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. Every day, more lies on top of lies came out of his mouth or out of his tweets. There were so many, people had a hard time keeping track of them.  

“Fake News!” he proclaimed, whenever something factual came out.  

Eventually, the King started to ramble on. He would try to rally his supporters around him whenever a new batch of fake news or fresh scandal happened, but he made no sense. He became unhinged. His supporters devoured everything he said anyway. It’s possible that they had been brainwashed over time. 

Many in the kingdom thought that he should be deposed due to madness and his threat to what remained of the Kingdom’s democracy. Others felt that his subjects should wait until the opposing party could pick a worthy opponent to challenge and topple him. However, it would be some time before the final challenger was chosen.