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“Huge crowds took part in ‘No Kings’ protests against President Donald Trump's policies in cities across the US on Saturday, including New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Miami and Los Angeles… Several US states had mobilised the National Guard. But organisers said the events, which drew nearly seven million people, were peaceful.” BBC
The left praises the protests, arguing that they are mobilizing resistance to Trump.
“Trump has mused publicly about suspending term limits. He routinely uses federal agencies to punish enemies and reward allies. He has publicly ordered military and federal law enforcement deployments into U.S. cities. He praises foreign strongmen and speaks of the country’s military power in possessive terms: My generals, my soldiers, my judges. He has openly floated using the Department of Justice to prosecute critics…
“Trump issued a threat [on Sunday]. ‘Don’t forget, I can use the Insurrection Act. Fifty percent of the presidents almost have used that. And that’s unquestioned power.’ His claim was false… He may not be a king by law. But in posture, and in the eyes of his defenders, Donald Trump already wears the crown.”
Sophia Tesfaye, Salon
“Millions of patriotic, Constitution-loving, First Amendment–protecting, immigrant-defending, diversity-embracing, decent, and kind human beings took to the streets to protest Donald Trump’s increasingly authoritarian presidency… All things considered, it was an extraordinary day of self-discipline by the anti-Trump multitudes…
“The No Kings protesters had been baited for weeks by an administration itching to use any whiff of violence from anti-Trump forces as an excuse to further militarize their rule and corrode democratic norms. But instead of hurling rocks or Molotov cocktails, instead of constructing barricades out of uprooted chunks of sidewalk or burning buildings, as the administration was practically goading them to do, they showed up in inflatable frog, dinosaur, giraffe, and unicorn costumes.”
Sasha Abramsky, The Nation
“The Democratic establishment dismissed the tea party movement in 2009, arrogantly writing off the popular backlash to President Barack Obama’s policies as inorganic and driven solely by funding from conservative billionaires like Charles and David Koch. Now Republican leaders are making the same mistake as they dismiss millions of demonstrators around the country as little more than pawns of George Soros.”
Editorial Board, Washington Post
“[Protests] can change how the public sees the opposition, and how people in that opposition see themselves… Think of all the times we’ve heard the administration and its advocates claim Trump has a ‘mandate’ for dismantling government capacity and assaulting democracy, and how often Trump has claimed his narrow 2024 win was actually the most sweeping victory in electoral history…
“The point is to say, Just about everyone is on board with this, and if you aren’t you should shut up. We are the sole possessors of true democratic legitimacy, and the opposition is nothing more than a small minority of extremists and cranks. The next time they say that, the memory of millions turning out to protest them will be the most effective rejoinder… Public protest is not, in itself, the solution. But we can’t solve the problem without it.”
Paul Waldman, Public Notice
The right criticizes the protests, arguing that Trump is not a king.
The right criticizes the protests, arguing that Trump is not a king.
“What, specifically, were people protesting on Saturday? Many think that ICE is overreaching its authority. They don’t like Trump’s threats against federal judges, or his attempts to use the FCC to silence his critics. He’s gauche, obnoxious, crude and corrupt. But he’s not a king. The people elected him, twice, and very nearly elected him a third time. As critics of the protests pointed out, people marched against kings, and then on Sunday, they woke up in a free country. Mission accomplished.”
Neal Pollack, Spectator World
“Millions of left-wing activists took to the streets with no discernible unifying message other than opposing President Donald Trump. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) claimed that the rally was about loving America, only to share the stage at the Washington D.C. protest with activist Afeni Evans, who openly hates America. Angela Davis, who purchased guns used in a terrorist attack where a judge was murdered, spoke at the San Francisco rally…
“Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) used the protests to push his reelection campaign, draping himself in a transgender flag and trying to demonize his Democratic primary opponent, Rep. Seth Moulton… [The protests are] just an excuse to get Democrats who protest as a hobby out on the streets again, conveniently timed just a few weeks before struggling Democratic candidates face voters in statewide elections in Virginia and New Jersey.”
Zachary Faria, Washington Examiner
“If Trump were a King, he wouldn’t be waiting breathlessly for the Supreme Court’s ruling on the lawfulness of his tariff policy. The courts would have no say. If Trump were a King, the government wouldn’t be shut down… If Trump were a King, Kilmar Abrego Garcia would still be jailed in El Salvador…
“What is Trump? He’s a president pushing the limits of his authority to the edge of what the [Constitution] allows, and in some cases beyond, but always subject to the constraining power of the courts (tariffs and Abrego Garcia) and Congress (the shutdown).”
Paul Mirengoff, Substack
“For all the mass demonstrations’ lofty goals, ‘No Kings’ enthusiasts seem to be talking themselves into the notion that they have achieved victory only insofar as they managed to annoy the president a little. In a childish riposte, the president posted to his proprietary social media venue an AI-generated video of himself adorned with a crown and flying a fighter jet in which Trump conducted an [aerial] bombardment of one No Kings protest with what appeared to be feces…
“It is hard to see evidence of the GOP’s consternation beyond these mild displays of Trumpian petulance. The president took no action to suppress the [protests] — indeed, he was praised by House Speaker Mike Johnson for keeping the National Mall open despite the ongoing government shutdown so demonstrators in Washington could assemble and register their dissatisfaction with the government.”
Noah Rothman, National Review
