U.S. President Donald Trump has branded himself as royalty.
On Wednesday, Trump was celebrating his administration’s order to halt the congestion pricing tolls in New York City, which lessen traffic and fund mass transit by making people pay to drive into Manhattan’s core.
Trump likened himself to a king in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, celebrating the move to terminate federal approval of the congestion pricing program.
“CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED,” Trump wrote, adding, “LONG LIVE THE KING!”
A screenshot of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Truth Social post.
@RealDonaldTrump / Truth Social
The official White House social media account on X shared Trump’s quote and added a fake magazine cover showcasing an illustration of Trump smiling and wearing a bejewelled golden crown. In the corner of the mocked-up cover, the text reads: “LONG LIVE THE KING.”
A screenshot of The White House’s social media post.
@WhiteHouse / X
The congestion pricing tolls were launched on Jan. 5, and the city’s system used licence plate readers to impose a $9 toll on most vehicles entering Manhattan neighbourhoods south of Central Park. In its early days, transit officials said the toll has brought modest but measurable traffic reductions.
The federal government has now officially rescinded its approval of the program, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced Wednesday, calling the toll’s financial burden “a slap in the face to working-class Americans and small business owners.”
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
The Federal Highway Administration will work with the state on an “orderly termination of the tolls,” according to the statement.
Within minutes of the announcement, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a state agency that runs the New York City subway and other public transit, filed a federal lawsuit to keep congestion pricing alive.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the toll program would continue while the lawsuit plays out.
Hochul was quick to fire back at Trump after he announced his plan to halt the congestion pricing tolls and referred to himself as a king.
“I’m here to say: New York hasn’t laboured under a king in over 250 years,” she said at a news conference at Grand Central Terminal, one of the city’s train hubs. “We sure as hell are not going to start now.”
“The streets of this city, where battles were fought, we stood up to a king and we won then. In case you don’t know New Yorkers, when we’re in a fight, we don’t back down, not now, not ever,” she added.
Hochul also posted a letter on X, writing, “We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king.”
“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 added.
Trump faced backlash from other notable figures after labelling himself as royalty.
Democratic National Committee (DNC) Vice Chair David Hogg quoted the White House’s post on X with the illustration of Trump as King, writing, “Republicans: Stop overreacting and calling Trump a king. Literally the White House twitter account:”
A screenshot of David Hogg’s post on X.
@Davidhog111 / X
Don Beyer, a Democratic representative of Virginia, took to X, writing, “We don’t have kings in the USA.”
Illinois’s Democratic governor, JB Pritzker, mentioned Trump’s self-proclaimed royalty while he delivered a state address, saying, “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.”
Trump’s post proclaiming himself “king” comes one week after he made a statement that he believed he had the freedom to reshape the United States government in any way he wants without legal repercussions.
“He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” he wrote on social media. The phrase, attributed to the French military leader who created the Napoleonic Code of civil law in 1804 before declaring himself emperor, drew immediate criticism from people on social media, however, the White House account shared Trump’s statement on X.
A screenshot of the White House’s post on X.
WhiteHouse / X
After Trump’s post, former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence shared an article he penned more than a decade ago on the limits of presidential power.
Trump, who took office on Jan. 20, has made broad assertions of executive power that appear headed toward U.S. Supreme Court showdowns. Some lawsuits accuse Trump of usurping the authority of Congress as set out in the U.S. Constitution.
— With files from The Associated Press and Reuters
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
