Novelist John Irving challenges people not to accept the politics of Trump.

With the publication of his fourth novel, Queen Ester, novelist John Irving has emerged as a fierce critic of U.S. President Donald Trump.

A dual Canadian and American citizen, who lives in Canada, says he will not go to the United States to promote his new book.

Why should the Against the Flow blog, emanating from the far eastern shore of North America, pay attention to this forceful and challenging author? This blog column has expressed great concern about the fascistic and anti-democratic tendencies of Trump.

Irving has just used an excellent interview with Matt Galloway, host of the CBC’s The Current, to explain why he takes very strong exception to Trump and his threat to democracy.

While Irving expressed his pride in the USA during the days of the civil rights movement, and opposition to the Viet Nam war, in the interview he called Trump an “authoritarian bully” and a “fascist.”

Irving has long been an advocate for LGBTQ rights; his mother was a strong campaigner for women’s sexual and political rights, including abortion rights.

He objects to Trump’s never ending executive orders, including his declaration that there are only two sexes, male and female, “the sexes people are born with.”

It is worth noting that Canada is not immune to such treatment. The Alberta government of Danielle Smith has invoked the not withstanding clause of the Constitution on legislation impacting transgender and gender diverse youth and adults. Premier Smith says the clause is needed to prevent the legislation from being overturned by the courts.

His work can be challenging, including, for example, The World According to Garp, with its forceful political message.

In his novels, Irving is known for writing towards an ending for his characters. He shapes these characters with a view to arrival at that ending. He is critical of modern “genre” writing such as about ghosts, mysteries, and romance “stuff,” perhaps where characters journey on a voyage of discovery toward an ending they discover as they go.

Being Jewish is an important aspect of Irving’s own make-up. In the recent Queen Ester novel, the main character, Ester, an orphan, is a Vienna-born empathetic Jew participating in the founding of Israel.

In an April 2025 column, this writer wrote: “This week he (Trump) used all the skills of a Nazi propagandist standing in front of massive Stars and Stripes flags draped on the White House. The world has not seen this type of menace since Adolf Hitler draped his Swastikas flags at his rallies during his raise to power close to 90 years ago.”

Irving argues that many Americans now do not seem to know what fascism looks like. “Well, they are in it.”

The earlier column just referred to, quoted the German Lutheran Pastor, Martin Niemoller who wrote:

“First, they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out –
because I was not a Socialist.
“Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out –
because I am not a trade unionist.
“Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out –
because I am not a Jew.
“Then they came for me –
and there was no one left to speak for me.”
 
This message underlines that despite the recent deep concern about Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israeli aggression in Gaza, we must remember one of the greatest attacks of one people against another, the Nazi Holocaust.
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 Irving spent much of his early life living with his grand mother. She cautioned that he should pick and choose among the causes he could espouse in his life: “Worry about the things you can change, Johnny,” she said.”
 
Sadly, many people, notably Canadians, might ask if Irving, courageous as he is, can change Donald Trump, at least for the foreseeable future.