On October 18, millions of Americans came together and declared “No Kings”.
What could be more patriotic American than this? Our country was born by rejecting the rule of an unaccountable, tyrannical king. The principle that no person is above the law is what separates us from dictators and monarchies.
So does the First Amendment to our Constitution, which guarantees the right to free speech and peaceably assemble. And assemble we did! News and social media showed massive crowds in major US cities as well as even greater 2,700 small meetings In every state.
In response to nine months of brutality, destruction and lawlessness by a president who acts as if the law does not apply to him, people from all walks of life came together to defend Native American principles. I was proud to be one of them, declaring my love for this country and my opposition to its move toward totalitarianism.
None of King’s events were overwhelmingly peaceful – in New York, where more than 100,000 people attended, the police department informed No protest-related arrests. that was the truth In Chicago, Washington and across the country.
Together, the 18 October rallies became one of the The largest demonstration in American historyThis infuriated the President, who is notorious for crowd sizeThe next day, Trump claimed that the events “Very small” – while anyone with a smart phone or television could see he was lying.
Trump also rejected millions of Americans because “whacked outHe also promoted an animated Video Showing a sick imagination: Trump wearing a crown piloting a plane and throwing excrement at protesters – this is a new low even for him.
We have come to expect Trump’s contempt for those who disagree with him. And we also expect Republican congressional leaders to repeat the administration’s lies.
Before No Kings, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) slammed the rallies and the people who participated in them. Johnson called “No Kings”hate americaRally – a dishonest description deployed by Fox News in its relentless campaign to discredit the events.
More precisely, Johnson was stillspots toNeither King’s gathering was deemed “anti-American”, despite the peaceful and patriotic protests that followed. And Johnson wasn’t the only Republican leader to hype the rallies and the Americans attending them.
Right-wing politicians and outlets repeated the tired and untrue MAGA conspiracy theory that most anti-Trump protesters are paid for their activism. Days before No Kings, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas)toldFox News’ Sean Hannity says these events “could lead to riots throughout the country.”
Cruz is doing more than just slandering organizers and philanthropist George Soros. Cruz is pushing dangerous legislation that would empower Trump’s corrupt Justice Departmentgo laterSoros and Cruz’s other funders are dishonest.Call“This network of left-wing violence.”
He is at the top of the Trump administrationmoveToTarget progressive advocacy groupsand his supporters led by Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)conclusion: “Donald Trump believes he’s a king, and he’s determined to use every agency at his control as a weapon to crush political opposition and silence free speech.”
None of the Kings organizers successfully insisted that the protests remain peaceful. The leaders of the Open Society Foundations have made it clear that they oppose violence while funding the organizations I lead, which organize people in defense of our freedom and democratic values. Yet Trump and his allies are weaponizing the government against people and groups who dare to criticize them.
One sign that the No Kings movement is having an impact is that Trump himself has been angry in recent days that he isnot a kingAnd doesn’t like to be called one myself.
But he certainly loves to act like one, trying to rewrite the Constitution by executive order and abusing his power to punish and intimidate journalists, colleges, companies, law firms, blue states, and others.
Even the White House is not safe. Demolition crews have demolished the east wing Build a huge royal ballroomIt is an expensive monument to Trump’s arrogance at a time when his policies threaten to expose millions of families to huge increases in health care costs they cannot afford.
Trump’s ballroom is nearly twice the size of the White House and would “overwhelm the White House.”has warnedNational Trust for Historic Preservation. This sounds like a metaphor for Project 2025’s plan that Trump will abuse his power so rapidly and on so many fronts that it will overwhelm legal and political objections to his harmful agenda.
But the size and enthusiasm of the No Kings crowd and the breadth of the coalition supporting them are welcome evidence that freedom-loving Americans will not bow to despotism or autocracy. There is no king in America!
Svante is the president of Myrickpeople for the american way,
