Our country originated on the idea that tyrannical rule is not something we will tolerate. Monarchy is not something we align our values with, and millions of people across the country gathered Oct. 18 to declare that we will not support an absolute king.
These “No Kings” protests swept the nation as a declaration of commitment to democracy and the ideal that no president stands above the institutions put in place to check his power.
The October No Kings protests have been officially recognized as one of the largest single-day demonstrations in U.S. history, with nearly 7 million people in attendance — 2 million more than the first No Kings protest in June. The mobilization was composed of over 2,700 peaceful protests across 50 states, according to No Kings.
Though conservatives aimed to spread the idea that these demonstrations would be violent riots, the protests across the country were entirely and overwhelmingly peaceful. At some of the largest protests, including New York and Chicago, the police departments reported zero protest-related arrests.
The day after the No Kings demonstrations, President Donald Trump claimed the events were small and ineffective — interesting considering the mobilization was 14 times larger than both of his presidential inaugurations combined.
There is a common rhetoric — originating with U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson — that No Kings is an anti-America protest. This is a lazy and untrue attempt to discredit the beliefs of millions of Americans.
I detest the idea that the right is the patriotic side of the political spectrum, while the left has a distaste for our country. I would argue that the right, and specifically the pro-Trump right, is patriotic for a country that doesn’t exist. A country that ignores diversity, democracy and the words of our Constitution. It is the left that upholds the true values of America as it was intended to be — a melting pot of different cultures, religions and perspectives.
Our founding fathers were obviously far from perfect, but they stood firm behind the belief that this nation should never again be ruled by a tyrant or a king. The current administration directly defies the American ideal of democratic government and the founding fathers — who were problematic by our modern ideals — are certainly turning in their graves.
Trump claims that he is not a king, and has expressed quite passionately that he hates being called one.
But, if silencing opposing voices of journalists or simply anyone who disagrees with him isn’t the behavior of an absolute ruler, what is? If attempting to rewrite and reinterpret the Constitution isn’t the behavior or a tyrant, what is? If continuing to lift up the wealthy and push down the poor isn’t the behavior of a monarchical hierarchy, what is?
Trump is even using the White House to memorialize his alarming ego, tearing down the East Wing to build a massive $250 million ballroom. This 90,000 square foot ballroom – almost twice the size of the White House – will dwarf and overwhelm the original building, according to a warning letter from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Trump is using his term to make as much political and legal change as possible, represented physically in his egotistical need to demolish and rebuild part of the White House to fit his personal standards.
The weekend following the No Kings protests, Trump posted an AI-generated video of him flying over protesters and dropping excrement on them. A completely unsurprising yet still somehow disappointing act of immaturity from the president of our country. The fact that this is normal behavior for the leader and main representative of the U.S. is nothing short of embarrassing.
There have been consistent criticism of No Kings that in reality, it isn’t going to accomplish anything. While I do agree that protests are less effective when not coupled with organization, to ignore the power behind protests this large is ignorant.
Simply knowing that millions of people across the country agree with your distaste for the state of our government can be empowering enough. The protest doesn’t need to be the change, it is protests such as No Kings that inspire change.
Critics like to claim protesters’ signs are not serious enough — they’re too jokey and make light of serious situations. While I get the point, it is precisely this line of logic that holds the left back.
The right — including the actual president — makes light of every single situation, made obvious through Trump’s childish use of AI in the aftermath of the protest.
Policing the way people use their voice is not the way to make more people want to speak up — it is alienating and limiting.
Additionally, I pose the question — are people in oppressed communities not allowed to make light of their own oppression? I urge you to acknowledge that this can be a fight for survival, a coping mechanism, or a million other things that the privileged will not understand.
America is supposed to be a country for the people, by the people. A country based on freedom — not a country built to support billionaires by stepping on the working class.
Since taking office, Trump has stripped freedoms from nearly every marginalized community there is — the LGBTQ+ community, women, people of color, immigrants, the elderly, the poor and the list goes on.
In times like these, it is vital that everyone who disagrees with these policies comes together in protests such as No Kings. Policing each other on what makes a “good protest” is a waste of energy, and gives Trump exactly what he wants — the opportunity to pit us against each other.
