Simple question, with seemingly an easy answer. Or is it?
The “No Kings” movement — portrayed by the Left as as a moral crusade against authoritarianism (read: President Donald Trump) — is far less about their claimed defense of liberty, and far more about performative theater in a transparent attempt to delegitimize Trump and his administration, while reinforcing faux Democrat narratives about their… (checks notes)… moral superiority and love of American “values.”
Hogwash.
The “No Kings” rhetoric, which bastardizes patriotic language to attack Trump by absurdly arguing that America’s duly elected president is actually a wannabe “king,” is charged, theatrical propaganda — not a serious constitutional critique.
What the Left views as (you pick) “authoritarianism,” “tyrannical rule,” “fascism,” or other such nonsense, is in reality Trump fulfilling the promises he made during the 2024 presidential election campaign — which, for the most part, is exactly why he won so decisively.
Let’s Be Honest, My Democrat Friends
Democrats loathe Trump’s in-your-face, strong executive style.
Then again, after four years of a cognitively vacant puppet presidency in which important decisions were likely made by left-wing staffers via the presidential autopen, the notion of a strong conservative executive in the White House shakes Democrats and their lapdog media to the core.
Whether because of closing the Southern Border to illegal aliens in a proverbial heartbeat (after former President Joe Biden continually lied about needing congressional legislation to do so), standing up to bloated unelected bureaucracies, destroying key Iranian nuclear sites, or standing with Israel against the scourge of Islamist fundamentalist terrorism, the Left just can’t deal.
So What About the ‘No Kings’ Movement?
House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans have called the demonstrations “hate-America rallies” and so forth because they see the rallies as expressions of contempt for everything from “the rich” to working-class Trump supporters — vs. legitimate policy dissent.
From this angle, the “No Kings” slogan rings hollow:
Claiming to oppose autocracy while demanding permanent judicial and bureaucratic vetoes over an elected government is a hypocritical and ominous fairy tale. But does it matter? And more importantly, will the insanity vanish after Trump leaves office?
ALSO CHECK OUT: The 'No Kings' Rally Was Never About Monarchs - or Even Donald Trump
In a Surprise to No One, George Soros' Foundation Is Funding Nationwide 'No Kings' Protests
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Tuesday weighed in on the question of whether or not the Republican Party should take the "No Kings" movement seriously. In a word, Newt said "yes."
Why? In Gingrich's view:
Republicans’ initial reactions to the No Kings movement have been to ridicule and make fun of it. This is a serious mistake.
How so? I mean, we saw primarily older white people strolling around, nonchalantly — more than a few of them dressed in silly animal costumes, as if it were Halloween — like they were visiting Disney World.
However, Gingrich opined:
There were more than 2,500 rallies Saturday. They varied from small gatherings to large crowds. When that many Americans feel strongly enough to protest against their government, they should be taken seriously.
Any movement that can organize same-day events in 2,500 locations is real. People can cry that it was financed by George Soros or other leftwing billionaires.
But at a key level, that is irrelevant. If people did not want to be organized, they wouldn’t be. If people were not energized by the opportunity to show up, they would stay home. The fact that millions of Americans spent part of Saturday in an ideologically driven political event is sobering.
Visceral hatred, paired with a desperate political party devoid of policies and proposals that would actually benefit hardworking Americans — make that all Americans — is real. Don't misunderstand: "real" and "factual" are not mutually inclusive on the Left; they never have been.
While the rallies are Trump-centric, it's a fool's game to believe that when Trump leaves office, the insanity will leave with him. Call it a "you can't put toothpaste back into the tube" thing or whatever. Trump is the Left's current obstacle, in many ways, but their ever-braver radicalism isn't going to go away when he does.
Republicans would be wise to take the "No Kings" movement, and its emotional appeal to populist elitism, seriously — because it's very "real" to the radicalized Left.
The Bottom Line
Conservatives should recognize “No Kings” not as the ridiculous warning of Trump as a dictator that it purports to be, but more as an effort to redefine patriotism itself — to a generation of discontented, yet ill-informed people who were never all that fond of authority in the first place.
