George R.R. Martin, whose series of fantasy novels, “A Song of Ice and Fire,” launched HBO’s wildly popular “Game of Thrones,” took a break from fiction in a recent blog post to laud former Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential candidacy.
“Out in the real world, I was pleased that Joe Biden finally announced his candidacy for president,” he wrote on Saturday. “There are a lot of good Democrats running, maybe too many, and I’d probably vote for any one of them over the present blot upon the Oval Office. The main things I want in a nominee, however, are twofold: (1) someone who can beat Trump, and (2) someone who would actually be a good/great president.”
When it comes to those conditions, Martin contended that “Biden qualifies on both counts,” calling his campaign announcement speech “kickass… and so, so true.”
“I wish him well,” added the author, who has lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for several decades.
Days before President Donald Trump’s 2016 election, the 70-year-old Martin rebuked the then-candidate in another blog post, saying he had never seen anyone “more unfit to lead this nation.”
In 2017, he bashed Trump in an interview with Esquire, likening him to King Joffrey Baratheon, known as one of the most savage and evil “Game of Thrones” characters.
“I think Joffrey is now the king in America,” Martin said. “And he’s grown up just as petulant and irrational as he was when he was 13 in the books.”
