The Far Left’s Choreographed, Vacuous ‘No Kings’ Movement

A decade of protests and violence against Trump and his supporters have produced exactly the opposite result than that desired by the millions afflicted with Trump Derangement Syndrome (the clinical name for that mental health disorder is TDS). Protests like No Kings and Fighting Oligarchy are the remnants of the impeachments, concocted scandals, legal warfare, violent uprisings, and even attempts at assassination that have not just failed, but resulted in Trump being elected president twice – and the one loss to Biden in between was close. Powerless leftists who saw their advocates sent packing in the last election have thrown the kitchen sink at Trump, but have been unable to stop him and are left with few options beyond parading around the streets objecting to anything they can think of. It’s like the old adage about lawyers on how to conduct a trial: "If you have the facts, slam the facts. If you have the law, slam the law. If you have neither, slam the table." Of course, precious few cases have been won by a lawyer slamming the table.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) provided the essential conservative perspective by rebranding the demonstrations as “hate America rall[ies]” that would draw “the pro-Hamas wing” of the left and “the Antifa people.” The down-and-outers, at least 31 of whom were arrested in various locations, spent much of their Saturday effectively slamming the table with their orchestrated placards, much like the Women’s March following Trump’s first inauguration. But they are unlikely to move the needle at all, especially since they are attacking so many issues at the same time. The success of movements generally hinges on identifying a specific grievance. Civil rights and anti-war movements, among others, had genuine impact because they rallied concerned people around a defined issue. But No Kings and Fighting Oligarchy are aimed not at issues, but at a single despised individual who was duly elected to the highest office in the land.

What we did not see during this day of rage was any recognition of the historic Middle East peace deal brokered by the president – or any of the seven other conflicts he tamped down across the globe. We might have thought those who screamed for an end to the “genocide” in Gaza would, if not openly celebrate, at least give grudging credit to Trump’s masterful performance on the world stage. But of course they did not, preferring instead to move on to other issues about which they can loudly complain.

The Real King

The ugly truth is that it was actually Joe Biden who behaved like a king. He issued a de facto jihad against Trump and his supporters during a dark, ominous speech at the very site where the Constitution was ratified. He ordered or tacitly approved top-down censorship, cancel culture, transgender fixation, unadulterated racialism, transparent weaponization of the Justice Department, attempts to bankrupt Trump’s business, and four different efforts to imprison Trump and throw away the key. Biden henchmen raided Trump’s home, put him on trial, and created a toxic political environment that led to two attempts at assassination. But there were none of the No Kings-style protests on the right, even though conservatives had many good reasons to feel profoundly threatened.

Donald Trump is a towering figure who has undoubtedly tested the limits of his power, as most Presidents do. Biden tried and failed repeatedly to cancel student loan debt before the 2024 election. Franklin D. Roosevelt tried and failed to pack the Supreme Court. John Adams advanced, then retreated from the Alien and Sedition Acts that punished speech he found objectionable. Like presidents past, Trump has sometimes prevailed, sometimes not, with an audacious agenda he clearly articulated during his historic 2024 presidential campaign. When the best his enemies can do is march around chanting all manner of noxious, hate-filled slogans, it reveals the utter bankruptcy of a movement and a party at war with reality.