Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Accused Trump Stalker: "It's All Like Calvin and Hobbes"
By
Ben Yakas
Published Feb 5, 2011
Modified Feb 5, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Ben Yakas
Published Feb 5, 2011
Modified Feb 5, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Yesterday, it was reported that Ivanka Trump enthusiast Justin Massler, aka Cloud Starchaser, had gone from being an alleged stalker to becoming a real fugitive, after he didn't show up for at least two court dates in Manhattan in the past few months. We spoke to Massler, who is currently in Nevada, and asked him why he didn't make it to his court date: "I basically am just real low on cash and I lost my I.D. recently so I couldn't get a plane ticket. I was really hoping they would just be like, 'Well, you know, it's a minor case, so let's just drop it,' but no, they want to go and issue a warrant, and now I'm a f---ing fugitive."
Massler, who describes himself as a "fake stalker," explained to us that he thought he was being hounded because part of his performance art included "writing that I was like the Jewish Messiah," which he believes angered Trump's husband, The Observer owner Jared Kushner, who is an observant Jew. This also leads into why Massler is reluctant to accept the plea deal offered by prosecutors, which would include a year of psych treatment:
As for the prosecutors deal, the thing is this: I am not mentally ill and I never was. They want me to accept "mental health treatment" for problems I don't actually have.
The problem is, prior to this Ivanka Trump Stalking Act, I was also working on a book project about psych wards, and I got myself thrown in a bunch of psych wards intentionally to do research for the book. So as a result, I have like a long history of being in different psych wards, but it's all just you know, book research, like Joaquin Phoenix when he flipped out on Dave Letterman, and it turned out to be a documentary.
And then you know I did the whole King of the Jews routine in a psych ward, and they diagnosed me as schizophrenic: that's actually why I got that diagnosis, because the psychiatrist is like, "What do you do?"
And I'm like, "Oh basically, I'm the King of Israel, just working on a mission to bring peace to the Middle East with God's help, also thinking of traveling to Mars later," and then he all writes, "The subject is delusional, believing himself to be the King of the Jews and a Space Captain."
I mean to me, it's all like Calvin and Hobbes, like when Calvin pretended to be Spaceman Spiff. Like I just feel like you can pretend to be the King of Israel, like in make believe, but I guess no one believes in Make Believe anymore.
...
Why can't we just pretend to be the King of the Jews if we want, like you know, Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes pretending to be a Space Captain? To me, honestly, this is all like a game of make believe, and I'm just tired of adults taking the world so seriously. I don't see the need to be so serious all the time.
At the core of the problem, Massler told us he is bored, and that boredom (which stems from his "level of intelligence") is what led to him dropping out of Phillip Exeter Academy, and not attending Harvard (he compares himself to janitorial math genius Will Hunting, from the movie Good Will Hunting, at one point): "I'm not jealous of Ivanka or Jared's world: I just hate the fact that the world is run by idiots. I honestly have very little respect for Ivanka, Kushner, Donald Trump: the government. I feel like they're all fools."
Tagged
calvin and hobbes
cloud starchaser
fandom
ivanka trump
justin massler
stalking
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Man shot and killed on Midtown subway platform Saturday afternoon, NYPD says
Police said they're searching for a person of interest.
By
Ryan Kost
and
Elizabeth Kim
Published Oct 17, 2026 at 1:16 p.m. ET
Modified Oct 17, 2026 at 4:10 p.m. ET
Have you seen this Yorkie? NYPD looking for adorable pup dognapped from her Queens home
Suspects were driving a Subaru Forester, police said.
By
Ryan Kost
News
Have you seen this Yorkie? NYPD looking for adorable pup dognapped from her Queens home
Suspects were driving a Subaru Forester, police said.
By
Ryan Kost
Being reigning champions is weird for Knicks fans, but we could get used to this.
By
Catalina Gonella
Tompkins Square Park is getting a makeover. Some say it's too much.
By
Willow Higgins
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
By
Rosemary Misdary
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .